Façade
by Lena108
Summary: AU. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. CH. 10 REUPLOADED.
1. Chapter 1: Lost in the Darkness

Façade

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

Rating: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

Summary: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

A/N: This is an AU centered entirely on the Organization. Every member of the Organization (including Naminé). There will be romance, but it is not the central point of the story and it will be quite a while before it develops. That being said, I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review. I will appreciate it! Thank you.

-------------------------------------

The darkness surrounded him. He saw a face looking down at him. His face? No… not him. He was gone. He'd been gone for a while. That's why this whole rescue mission was entirely ridiculous. He reached out a weak arm and opened a portal for the Keyblade master before the darkness pulled him straight back down again, destroying what hope he had to stay in his world. There was nothing left. Nothing, save the darkness. Was this what death was like? He wasn't sure if he'd be able to bear it for five minutes, let alone for eternity. He was spared, however, by a bright light. Axel had to squint and shield his eyes, suddenly having to adjust to this newfound light.

"You are a link to the chain that ties everything together," a female voice told him. Axel frowned, glancing around to find where the voice came from. There seemed to be nobody around, though.

"What? Who the hell are you?"

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to restore peace and prosperity to the land."

"Lady, I think you've got the wrong guy," Axel stated, frowning deeply. She wanted _him_ to restore peace and prosperity? Yeah, right.

"All fourteen of you must come together at one time to combine your hearts and restore the land to its former glory."

"That's all fine and dandy, but we have no hearts," Axel told her, feeling irritated. This chick was just not listening to him at all. Surprisingly, she chuckled softly.

"You have much to learn. This will give you a second chance to right your wrongs. Do you accept the challenge?" Axel hesitated a moment. Who was she to say he could live again and what he was supposed to do when he was alive. However, the thought of being back in the world again and maybe this time with a heart was far too tempting.

"All right," Axel grinned. "I'll take it. So… fourteen of us, eh?"

"Farewell, Axel."

There was another flash of light, then all went dark.

-----------------

Summer was the time of year when all the animals came from miles around to visit one particular spot. It wasn't unusual now to see predator and prey cooperating and walking side by side. The land was at peace for one week. Sadly this was not that week, but it was soon. Citizens for miles and miles around were looking forward to the time in which every living thing under the sun got along. Little did they know that the spirits were restless and those spirits had decided on a different event for that week.

Axel groaned in pain. Everything hurt—his body would not obey him and get up. Finally, he opened his eyes to observe his surroundings. It was then that he knew that he wasn't in the darkness anymore. The sun was, in fact, shining brightly above his head. Birds were chirping and everything was green. Axel finally sat up, frowning deeply.

"…the hell?" His cloak was gone, which didn't upset him as much as it would other members of the Organization, but it still felt strange without it. Axel glanced around to take in his surroundings. There was absolutely nothing around. Well, not nothing… there was a whole ton of grass, a few trees and a thin dirt path, but that didn't help Axel figure out where he was. He stood shakily and began to walk, unsure as to where the little dirt path would take him. Part of him was glad the cloak was gone because it was quite warm out. Strangely, there was no living thing in sight which was rather disturbing to an extent. Soon enough, however, Axel noticed that a monkey had appeared and seemed to be following him. At one point, it got close enough to tug on his pants leg, making frantic noise and attempting to drag him in a certain direction.

"Get away from me," Axel frowned, gently kicking it away. The monkey made an indignant noise and tugged on him harder. "This better be worth my time," he snapped, feeling pretty stupid for talking to a monkey.

In fact, the furball led him to a small, abandoned cottage. Axel glanced around trying to figure out what the thing wanted him to see. It wasn't much--in fact it was a dump. There was a tattered couch leaning against the wall of a hallway leading to who knows where. Cobwebs seemed to be the new decoration of the year as they lined every inch of the ceiling. A few pictures were hanging from the walls, but they were so dusty that Axel couldn't make out what they were supposed to be. A door stood open to reveal a rundown kitchen that still wasn't very exciting. Axel, feeling greatly annoyed, was ready to leave, but as he turned around a large bear appeared on the path that he had just been traveling down. Axel turned to look at the monkey, but it was gone. He shrugged it off and, as soon as the bear had disappeared, he left the cottage, deciding to be more wary of his surroundings. A guy could get killed in this… wherever he was.

The sun was setting by the time Axel finally reached a small town. The inn wasn't difficult to find because there were only about five buildings there anyhow. Axel entered and quickly booked a room, not particularly caring if he had the money to pay for it or not. There were several beds in the room and they were a bit 'pretty' for Axel's liking, but it was something to sleep on. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep. Outside in an alley behind the inn, a weasel was slinking through the shadows, a small pouch hanging from around its neck. As it scampered deeper into the alleyway, a strong hand reached out to pick it up by the middle. It let out several squeaks of protest, but they fell upon deaf ears. The large man slipped the pouch off the weasel's neck before setting it back down gently. It then hurried and hid behind a trash can before changing back into a man.

"I told you that you don't have to pick me up to get the bag," the weasel snapped. "Hand me my clothes." The man from before did just as the weasel demanded and tossed his pants to him.

"How much is it?" the first one asked, opening the pouch to peer inside.

"How should I know?" I can't count when I'm like that." He emerged from behind the trash can and snatched his shirt from the bigger man. "This is pathetic."

"It's survival," the larger one countered.

"Resorting to petty thievery to survive," he corrected, crossing his arms and frowning at his comrade.

"Zexion…"

"Don't, Lexaeus," Zexion held up a hand to halt him. "I should be used to it by now."

"Does the rabbit ever get used to being the prey?" Lexaeus gave his companion a slight smile. Zexion felt compelled to return it.

"What did you find while you were scouting today?" Zexion asked, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms.

"Nothing. That infernal monkey hasn't been around as of late," Lexaeus told him, looking rather concerned.

"Good," Zexion stated, nodding. "His meddling was becoming bothersome. We should be wary, though. He may be developing a plan against us." Lexaeus nodded in agreement, sighing softly.

"Where is Vexen?"

"He said that he would return tomorrow night," Zexion explained.

"It's just the two of us in that case," Lexaeus deducted. "Perhaps we should sleep tonight. The inn may have free rooms." Zexion frowned in disapproval.

"I really don't think that's a good idea… we have to be cautious…"

"And we shall," Lexaeus assured him. "I simply desire a bed one night instead of in an alley or a cave." Zexion hesitated for a moment. He looked up at an upstairs window of the inn, then back at his companion.

"Very well," he gave in. "I'll do the talking."

"It's what you do best," Lexaeus smiled at him. Zexion returned a slight smile before they emerged from the alley. Zexion straightened out his clothes before leading Lexaeus inside.

"Good evening, sirs," the innkeeper greeted cheerfully. "What will you be needin'?"

"A room, please," Zexion stated. "Just one will suffice."

"Ah… unfortunately we're booked for the night…" he said slowly, but then added hastily, "oh, but we have a room with only one guest, so you can share with him, if you don' mind sharin'!" He obviously didn't want to lose customers. Zexion glanced back at Lexaeus, who nodded.

"All right," he said. "Thank you for accommodating us. We appreciate it."

"Of course," the innkeeper smiled. "Though, I gotta warn you… there's been some thievin' around these parts."

"Has there?" Zexion raised his eyebrows. "Thank you for the warning. We'll have to be careful then." The man nodded and handed Zexion a key to the room.

"You folks have yerselves a good night now." Zexion smiled slightly at him before he and Lexaeus left to go to their room. Zexion unlocked the door and poked his head in. He frowned slightly. There was nobody there. The covers on one of the beds were in disarray, but other than that there was nothing. No bags and no other guest.

"Odd…" Lexaeus whispered. "He said that there was somebody in here."

"There is," Zexion told him softly. "I can smell him… it's familiar." Lexaeus raised his eyebrows and cocked his head, moving toward the bed. The two men exchanged glances and Zexion nodded. The larger man pulled back the covers, reached out swiftly and grabbed the fox by the scruff of the neck.

Axel's eyes widened and he started to squirm. He found himself unable to use his powers or his weapons so he simply decided to hit the man with his paw. Wait a minute… his **_paw_**? Axel tried harder to get away, wanting to know what this man had done to him.

"Let go! Let go of me, dammit!" Whoever was holding him turned around, bringing Axel face to face with a man he thought was dead. More or less a man that he'd watched die.

"Well, well, well," Zexion grinned almost savagely. "What do we have here?" Axel let out a pitiful squeak, not liking the fact that he was powerless at the moment. "I didn't expect to see you again. How strange indeed."

Axel frowned, glancing around for an escape route. He wasn't sure what Zexion was going to do to him, but he was sure that he wouldn't like it one bit. He spotted an open window, but knew he had to get out of the other man's grasp. Judging by the grip he had on him, it was Lexaeus. Axel tilted his head as best he could and sank his now sharp teeth into Lexaeus' hand. He dropped him in surprised and Axel scampered to the window as fast as he could on four legs. He squirmed out and dropped into a trash can in an alley down below. He then continued to scamper away, unsure if they were following him or not. He managed to make it to the deserted house before he finally felt like he could rest. How was Zexion alive? Or perhaps it was just Axel who was dead… A firefly had perched itself in front of him.

"This is hopeless…" he stated to himself before lying down.

"You said it, kid," the firefly agreed. Axel's head snapped back up and his eyes widened. "Lost your way?"

"I must be going batshit crazy…"

"What's so crazy about talking to me?" the firefly snapped, sounding offended. "Am I not good enough for you or something? You have a problem with talking to a bug?"

"I didn't say that," Axel told her calmly. "I'm just not used to talking to animals and dead men, got it memorized?" The bug was silent for a moment before finally speaking again.

"Axel?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Never mind," the bug said. "Get some sleep. They can't get you here."

"How can I trust you?" Axel asked, frowning deeply but lying down anyway.

"You've got no choice," the bug said as Axel drifted off to sleep. The bug made sure he wasn't going to wake up before flying off its perch into the bathroom. It was there that she transformed back. She sighed softly and put her dress back on, grimacing. After a year she still hadn't gotten used to it. She left the bathroom and grabbed a blanket, placing it over the fox.

"Larxene!"

"Shut up!" she snapped, turning to glare at Marluxia as he entered the house. "You'll wake him up."

"Who?" Marluxia frowned, glancing around.

"The fox," Larxene said, pointing. Marluxia looked down at Axel and paused before nodding.

"Right… running from the weasel no doubt." Larxene nodded and sat down on the raggedy old couch. "Hn… we'll see in the morning."

"It's not long until then," Larxene told him, crossing her arms and nodding to the window. Marluxia glanced outside and frowned.

"Was I out that long?"

"Yeah, no shit." Marluxia frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he moved to the kitchen to find something to eat.

"This is pathetic," Marluxia sighed, looking around for anything edible.

"I know. Why are we running from that bunch again?"

"Because they can squash you like a bug—" he ignored the glare he received from Larxene and went on, "—and that bear can kill me with one swoop of his paw," Marluxia finished, returning with a banana in hand. By then, the fox was gone and a man slept there with only a small blanket to cover him. "He just got here today…"

"Did you see him earlier?" Marluxia nodded. "Do you think the others will follow?"

"Probably, if they Keyblade bearer got to them…" The fox stirred and made a slight noise. Both Marluxia and Larxene became silent to watch him. Axel opened his eyes and was quite surprised to see those two staring down at him.

"Holy shit!" he sat up, but immediately pulled the blanket over himself. Larxene smirked slightly.

"Good morning, sunshine," she said.

"This place is like city of the dead," Axel stated, frowning deeply. "What's going on?" Marluxia chuckled softly and tossed him a pair of pants.

"Change and come back out," he said. "I'll explain everything then." Axel nodded slowly and stood. Marluxia groaned and looked away and Larxene rolled her eyes.

"Show off," she said. Axel grinned at her and headed into the bathroom to change. Upon returning to the room he sat down on the couch and waited.

"Okay, shoot," Axel said, glancing up at Marluxia and crossing his arms.

"All right," he said. "As I see it, this is where we come when we die, but the thing is that we turn into animals at night."

"Yeah, no shit." Axel rolled his eyes.

"There's a way to control it," Larxene butted in.

"That's good. I'd like to stay looking like a human most of the time. How?"

"You have to do it on your own," Marluxia told him.

"Peachy." He crossed his arms back over his chest and sighed. "How long did it take you?"

"Almost a year to control it completely," Marluxia said with a slight frown, watching Axel closely. Axel scratched his head and groaned softly.

"Well, isn't that great…"

"It's not that bad," Larxene assured him. "You just have to make sure you aren't around people when it gets dark. You were lucky last night."

"Well, you should also avoid people when the sun comes up, unless you want to give them the same show you gave us," Marluxia continued.

"How about I just stay inside and never leave here again?" Axel asked, mockingly. "This blows."

"No, just when it gets dark and when it gets light," Marluxia corrected him.

"You were always a fast learner," Larxene reminded him. "It should be easy for you to figure this all out."

"It better be…" Larxene smirked slightly.

"Now there's the Axel I know. Don't worry too much." She turned to Marluxia. "I'm starving. Let's go to town." Marluxia nodded and motioned for Axel to get up.

Back in the village, the innkeeper marveled at the fact that one room previously had three guests. All that was left now as a pile of clothes and claw marks on the window sill.

END CHAPTER ONE

A/N: That was my first chapter. I do hope you all enjoyed it. I love feedback, positive and negative. Tell me what you think. Did it go a little bit too fast? Would you like more descriptions? Let me know. I'd love to hear it. I take all comments into consideration and I'll answer questions at the beginning of the next chapter. Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out soon as it is already halfway finished.

Always,

Lily


	2. Chapter 2: A New Life

_**Façade**_

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

Rating: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

Summary: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

A/N: Thanks to the few of you who reviewed. I'm going to answer all my reviews right here. Thank you all again!

_Tera Earth_: Thank you for your review. All the Organization members will be included. All thirteen of them plus Naminé. That means the ones from Chain of Memories _and _Kingdom Hearts 2. I do hope that helps. I'll do my best to add in more descriptions.

_RiosMasquerade_: Thank you very much! I'm very glad you like it so far!

_wickedlyevil_ (on Livejournal): The guy with Zexion is Lexaeus. He is also from Chain of Memories. Thank you for your review!

-------------------------------------

_Chapter 2: A New Life_

The bees were all migrating at the same time. To an outsider, this may have seemed quite odd, but to a natural born resident of this world it was an annual occurrence and, in fact, a good omen. When the bees migrated across the continent, it meant that the world would continue on for another year. If the bees failed to migrate in June, the world would end in a week. Luckily, that hadn't happened yet. The newcomers sadly didn't believe in this occurrence. How unfortunate for them. They wouldn't know when the world was going to end. As they paraded down the road they failed to notice the swarm of bees as they walked right by them. It was simply lucky for them that the bees were too focused on continuing on with the world to bother with the intruders.

"So what do you call this place?" Axel asked crossing his arms and following close behind Marluxia and Larxene down the road.

"Eterra," Larxene said. "The town we're going to is called Edea." Axel nodded, frowning slightly. At least there seemed to be a trend.

"Axel, tell me something," Marluxia cut in, glancing back at him.

"Depends on what you want to know," Axel countered, raising his eyebrows and smirking slightly.

"Who else died?" Marluxia asked, looking slightly annoyed.

"Um…" Axel thought for a moment, and then for another moment longer than he should have, just to annoy Marluxia. "Let's see… Demyx, Xaldin… and Roxas…"

"So there's only four left…" Marluxia began. Axel cleared his throat and shook his head.

"Not for long," he said. "The kid with the Keyblade was on his way into the castle."

"Oh," Marluxia frowned and glanced over at Larxene, who had a surprisingly thoughtful look on her face. "Before you arrived here, did you hear something about being the link in the chain or something like that?"

"So what if I did?" Axel asked. "You get that too?"

"Mmhm," Larxene nodded, making a face. "We figure someone wants us to fix something—like save the world and stuff."

"Whose bright idea was it to have _us_ save the world?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They trust us for some reason," Marluxia interjected with a shrug.

"Trust in others never won a war," Axel said wisely. "We were just killed to save another world. That should tell these people something."

"There's nothing we can do about that now," Marluxia told him, rubbing his temple as if trying to fight off a headache.

"This is stupid," Axel muttered.

"Well, we've got to be here for some reason," Larxene snapped. "So we're here to save the world in our own way." Axel made a face but became silent. As they reached the small town Axel found it difficult to distinguish it from the place he'd been the night before. The only difference was that there was a forest nearby this time. Marluxia led them into the bar and they chose a table in the corner away from the small crowd already gathered there. They ordered drinks and Axel leaned back in his chair to get comfortable.

"Now what?" he asked. Larxene and Marluxia knew more about this place than he did. They could probably figure out where to go next better than he could.

"We really should find the others if everyone is here now," Marluxia said, frowning slightly, looking concerned. "Before Zexion does."

"Oh, yeah," Larxene groaned and rolled her eyes. "That little rodent is going to be a pest all throughout whatever we're trying to do."

"So basically we're racing? Heh…" Axel sighed and shook his head. "This sucks. It's probably going to be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"We just need to find the needle before the other guys do," Larxene added, setting her glass down on the table—a bit violently.

"Great," Axel slumped back in his chair. He wanted to find Roxas. He really couldn't care less about the others, only Roxas mattered.

"Don't worry so much," Marluxia told him as though he could read his mind. He always had that uncanny air about him anyway. Maybe he could read minds… "We just need to set out today."

"We don't know where they'll be," Axel reminded him. "How big is this place?"

"You're probably right… damn…" Marluxia frowned and sipped his drink in thought. "For all we know, Zexion Lexaeus and Vexen are planning the same thing as we are. Or maybe something worse…"

And they were…

"We simply have to split up," Zexion told the other two. "It will be easier to locate them that way."

"You're absolutely right," Vexen nodded. He'd returned upon hearing that Axel had been sighted. That was news to him and certainly important news at that. More important than sauntering around the forest anyway. "But the fact stands that we need strength in numbers. If the monkey has Axel on his side we'll need to be more cautious. You of all people should know this, Zexion." The younger man frowned deeply, quite annoyed by that comment.

"Not if they split up as well," Lexaeus reminded them, preventing whatever argument may have occurred after Vexen's obvious attack on Zexion's pride.

"They can't do that," Zexion waved his hand, still looking rather annoyed. "Axel can't control his transformations yet. He needs at least one of them around and I'm sure they know that."

"Then we'll just have to avoid them," Lexaeus said simply. "At night it shouldn't be difficult to take them, especially if Axel isn't in human form." Zexion nodded slowly, thinking.

"That is undoubtedly the ideal plan," he said. "So we split up but do our best to avoid them. Confrontation won't help us find the others any faster. It might even hold us back a day or two."

"Exactly," Lexaeus agreed, nodding his head slightly. "I'll head north toward the capital. If anyone got here before Axel that's the best place to go to find them."

"Very well. I'll go east to the shrine," Zexion stated. "If this is truly the doing of this land's gods then at least one of them should have gone there."

"I think it wise for one of us to stay in this area," Vexen said thoughtfully. "Several others seem to have appeared here, so I'll make sure to keep an eye out for them. Let's report back here in three days."

"That's reasonable enough," Zexion nodded, standing from the table. "Until then, gentlemen." He turned briskly and pushed the swinging doors open to leave the bar and start out for his destination. Lexaeus watched him go before finishing up his drink and standing as well. He said nothing but bowed his head slightly as a form of goodbye before leaving as well. Vexen stayed put for his instinct told him that this was the best place to be for the task at hand. His instinct had been correct for he didn't have to wait very long before a man entered. A man he knew well. Vexen glanced up from his mug and let a grin cross his features.

"Well," he leaned back in his chair, drawing that man's attention to him. "It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"Why, yes, it certainly has." The man looked quite taken aback at seeing Vexen sitting there. After all, he had died not too long ago. "I'm afraid I'm rather confused by everything that's happened. Kindly explain to me what's going on."

"All in due time, Saïx, my friend," Vexen smirked, pleased with himself at finding one of the more reliable members. If anybody could take care of business, it was Saïx. "All in due time."

----------------------

Traveling in the middle of nowhere was not Axel's idea of a good time. Even looking for his former comrades was dull. He would have very much preferred to be looking for a specific person. Marluxia and Larxene, however, seemed as though they would settle on finding anybody. They wanted to get as many people as they could before Zexion and his motley crew did. It didn't help matters that the sun was beating down on them, making each of them very irritable. Larxene was acting as though she would blow up the second either man spoke so much as a syllable to her. Thus, Marluxia and Axel stayed quite a few steps behind, giving her space and they room to talk without annoying her.

"So you don't even know how _you_ ended up here?" Axel asked incredulously with a slight frown. It couldn't be good if Marluxia, who had been there for a year, still didn't know very much about why they were there.

"Not a clue," Marluxia sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. "I was lucky to even find Larxene, actually."

"And you guys were around that same place you found me, right?"

"That's right," Marluxia confirmed. Axel became silent for a second, adding things up in his head.

"So… we're heading to a huge city?" Axel inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, that's usually where the people are…"

"But you just told me that everyone kinda appeared around the same place where there's less people," Axel stated, shrugging his shoulders. "Of course, I don't know anything. I just thought it was funny. Never mind, though. You're the leader." Marluxia gave him an annoyed look.

"Nice to see you haven't changed," he stated sarcastically. "I have a feeling we'll find somebody there. Only so many people can show up in one spot."

"You also had the feeling that Vexen was our friend," Axel said, continuing before Marluxia could speak. "…and that we could defeat the kid with the Keyblade and that you could trust anyone who said they were your friends and…"

"Yes, Axel, I get it," he snapped, glaring at him. "I'm not always right, but I'm pretty sure that I am this time. Don't antagonize me."

"There are a lot of times when you haven't been right," Axel said under his breath. Marluxia shot him another glare, but didn't get a chance to retort for Larxene felt the severe need to intervene.

"If you guys are finished we really should get going," she said sweetly. Axel figured now would be the best time to duck and cover because a storm was blowing in fast. Her demeanor changed immediately as she started speaking again and now it looked as though she would spit fire. "You guys are holding us up and if you really wanted to find the other members _before_ Zexion and his puppets then you should probably _stop arguing_ and _walk faster_ because I'm leaving you behind." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Unless you'd rather let the weasel and his pet bear find everyone else first. That way the entire world can be against us too."

Larxene huffed and turned on her heel, walking faster than before. Axel stole a quick glance at Marluxia and the two of them sped up to keep up with her. No use invoking her wrath yet again if they decided to wait any longer. They walked in silence for quite a while and a few questions were burning in the back of Axel's mind. Finally, he decided to ask Marluxia, though he really did hate asking so many questions of either of them.

"What about Vexen?" he asked. "He died before anybody else. Is he here too or did he just get left out?"

"Oh, no, he's here," Marluxia stated halfheartedly. "We just haven't had quite so many problems with him." He paused for a moment and glanced over at Axel suspiciously. "Why?"

"Just curious. I'd like to know if I'm up against anybody besides the Super Sniffer and bodybuilder in a fight if it comes to that," Axel shrugged, ignoring Marluxia's discomfort. "I figured he'd be here. Y'know, since he died too and all."

"He is," Larxene said needlessly. "He just isn't nearly as annoying."

"Good to know," Axel put his hands behind his head and became silent for the time being. Hopefully they'd find Roxas before anybody else. Though he hadn't said anything out loud, Marluxia was very wary of Axel's ambitions and watching him carefully.

------------------------------------------

There were a few good reasons as to why Vexen didn't usually bother those obnoxious neophytes. First and foremost he didn't particularly want to interact with them in the slightest, but that was beside the point. What he said his reasons were, for one, he preferred to go unnoticed until the opportune moment. The opportune moment had yet to present itself, thus he stayed hidden in the shadows. Second, he decided to let Lexaeus do all the fighting so he could concentrate on his experiments. Now, he had yet another good reason to stay away from them—his discoveries of other members would also go unnoticed.

"That is basically all there is, Saïx, my friend." He had just finished explaining the situation to Saïx, who took everything much better than he had originally assumed. The younger of the two nodded and leaned back in his chair, as calm and composed as he always pretended to be.

"I see…" he said quietly. "That is interesting. Have you discovered the cause of any of this yet?"

"Well, it seems that we're supposed to complete a task here," Vexen explained. "As for turning into a certain kind of animal, sadly, no, I have yet to discover the causes." He frowned deeply, not enjoying the fact that there was something he still didn't know after a year. "I've never seen anything like this before." Saïx said nothing in response for the moment. Instead, he spoke softly to himself.

"So this is death… you would think that Kingdom Hearts would have been merciful enough to give us hearts before sending us here."

"Perhaps that's exactly the reason Kingdom Hearts sent us here," Vexen suggested, a gleam in his eye. Saïx glanced at him and raised his eyebrows.

"A challenge then?" Saïx determined. "To prove that we are indeed worthy of having hearts."

"Yes," Vexen smirked. "And we shall prove that we are worthy of them." Saïx chuckled softly, the slightly savage gleam in his eyes appearing. Thus appeared another reason as to why Vexen avoided the likes of Marluxia—there were those like Saïx who were more than willing to do his dirty work for him.

----------------------------------------------------

The largest city in Eterra was not all it was cracked up to be, really. It certainly wasn't as big as it could have been. Hell, it wasn't even as big as Twilight Town, but Axel wasn't complaining. Not too much anyway. Less people made it easier to find Roxas, but it would also be easier for Zexion to find him. This put them at kind of a standstill, but Axel didn't like being on the same playing field as his enemies.

"Let's split up for now," Larxene not so much as suggested but demanded. "We'll cover more ground that way. We can meet back here a bit before it gets dark."

"That's in about an hour, Larxene…" She didn't give Marluxia's comment a though or Axel even a chance to respond before she headed into the crowd and disappeared. Marluxia glanced at Axel for a second and sighed.

"Stay out of trouble," he advised before heading in the opposite direction. Axel rolled his eyes. Well, that left him with one direction, really—to go straight ahead. As he wandered the town, Axel determined that, despite its size, the capital had everything. There was a bazaar with all kinds of produce and whatnot. There was a clothes store that a few giggling girls just entered and a weapon and armor shop right next door. Then there were street performers. Quite a few of them, in fact. There were mimes and dancers and musicians and singers and so on and so forth. Axel spotted a rather large crowd gathered around something. For a minute he thought it was a kid, but upon further inspection he discovered that it was a man at a box gambling with his customers. The best place to find Luxord. Axel shook his head and pushed his way through the crowd.

"Well, would you looky here," Axel grinned. "Earning lots of money, hm?" Luxord glanced up. Immediately his eyes went wide and he stood quickly, knocking the box over, sending the cards flying in every direction.

"You!" he exclaimed. The crowed had stopped chattering and it went rather quiet. Some had even backed away in fear that a fight would break out.

"Yep. Me. Axel. A-X-E-L, got it memorized?" He grinned slightly at his former comrade. "It's sure been a while, hasn't it?" He leaned an arm on the older man's shoulder, but Luxord quickly moved away from him, keeping his eyes on the redhead at all times.

"Don't touch me you traitorous wretch," he snapped.

"Ooh, ouch. That one hurts," Axel put a hand to his chest, a smirk crossing his features. "Gets me right here."

"What do you want?" Luxord demanded over Axel's soft snickering, crossing his arms.

"Just a little chat. There's a couple others who'd love to see you too. Almost as much as I wanted to. Y'know, unless you'd rather give this crowd a real show and duke it out right here." Axel glanced around. "Can't promise it won't get out of hand, though." Luxord considered for a moment, weighing the odds before resigning to the fact that there was no escaping it.

"Very well," he said, sounding rather annoyed by this entire situation. "Lead the way."

"I knew you'd see things my way," Axel grinned and took his arm, dragging him away from the crowd. He weaved his way through the people and managed to get to a secluded area where Larxene had demanded they meet later. Luxord pulled his arm out of Axel's grip when they stopped, frowning deeply.

"Would you be so kind as to explain to me what's going on?" he demanded, seemingly getting more irritated by the second.

"Well, I've got this funny feeling that we died," Axel told him. He smirked when Luxord raised a doubtful eyebrow. "What? You don't believe me?"

"It is rather difficult, you realize," Luxord crossed his arms over his chest, rather skeptical.

"Trust me, gramps. I've got evidence." Luxord's eye visibly twitched at the nickname, but knew that correcting Axel was useless at the moment.

"And what exactly is this evidence that you speak of?" he asked, though it seemingly peaked his curiosity. As if on cue, Marluxia could be seen through the crowd, making his way toward them.

"Him," Axel said, pointing. Luxord followed his gaze and frowned deeply, looking suddenly very unnerved.

"I see…" He was very clearly discontented with this information. "How…"

"Excellent," Marluxia said as he approached, cutting off Luxord's question. "It's been a while."

"Yes," Luxord agreed, coldly. "It has. Well, I certainly see your point, Number Eight. Now, if you'll excuse me…" As he attempted to leave, both Axel and Marluxia reached their hands out to push the older man back against the wall.

"Now, now. Let's not be too hasty here," Marluxia said, almost as if he were speaking to an unruly child. "It would do you well to hear me out before scurrying off to your card games. Now, you can stay with us and be safe, or you could run into Zexion, Vexen, and Lexaeus, who may or may not kill you."

"Basically saying, old time," Axel cut in. "It's your little gamble. You can hang with us and live or try your luck on a one in a thousand chance slot machine." Luxord studied both of his former comrades for a moment, debating with himself.

"What makes you think they'll kill me?" he asked. "I was faithful to the Organization, unlike you two."

"Yeah, but without our old buddy Xemnas around they can do whatever they want," Axel told him. "Including fulfill their desire to kill all of us newcomers." Luxord was silent for another moment, weighing his odds.

"Very well," he agreed reluctantly. "I trust that if you wanted to kill me, you would have already done so."

"Smart guy," Axel said, grinning. Larxene approached them, looking actually pleased to see Luxord.

"Good," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Glad we got him before the other guys did."

"Larxene!" Luxord exclaimed. She smirked slightly.

"Luxord," she stated, bowing mockingly. "Ever so smashing to see you again, old chap." Axel smirked, glad that all the time they'd spent together was paying off for her. Luxord, however, was clearly not amused.

"Lovely…" he muttered, sighing softly. "Perhaps I should have gambled on Zexion."

END CHAPTER 2

Thank you to all who reviewed my last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one! The next one will be out as soon as I type it up. As always, please give me feedback, I'd greatly appreciate it. I love constructive criticism because it makes me a better writer. Tell me a few things you'd like to see me do in future chapters. More descriptions? More dialogue? Etc. I'm open to suggestions. Thank you!

Always,

Lily


	3. Chapter 3: A Matter of Trust

_**Façade**_

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

Rating: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

Summary: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

A/N: Thanks to the few of you who reviewed. I'm going to answer all my reviews right here. Thank you all again!

_Emi lulu _– Of course we need more Organization fics. I adore them. Thank you for the review!

_RiosMasquerade_ – Awww. That's really flattering. Thank you very much for that.

_The White Raven013 _– Thank you for both of your reviews. I really appreciate it. I'm glad you like it.

_One Winged Kuja _– Thank you very much. Demyx and Xaldin will make their appearances very soon!

_Crimson Courreges_ – Truthfully, there is no good or evil side. It's all a matter of perspective. Each side is doing what they think they have to. As for Roxas and Naminé, they will be explained in later chapters.

_spazwriter14_ – Thank you so much. I'm so glad that you enjoy it. It's nice to hear that my writing style is just right for some people. I appreciate it!

-------------------------------------

Chapter 3: A Matter of Trust

The sun was becoming increasingly intense in the hot summer afternoon. Thus, most of the animals had taken refuse in their caves and burrows underground. It was known to them that most humans did not travel in such great heat because, though they did not wear their fur except on their heads, they were susceptible to heat stroke. The animals poked their heads out, however, to regard the strange creature that defied their expectations and still traveled.

Lexaeus was not particularly happy. He'd taken the long way toward the capital to cover the most ground. A mistake, in his opinion, as it had yet to do him any good whatsoever. Now he was rather cranky, tired, hot and wishing he had taken a shorter route. Lexaeus was just contemplating taking a rest when a small something went whizzing by his head. As if on instinct, all thoughts to rest had left his mind and he pulled out his tomahawk, glancing in the direction from whence it came. He frowned and held his weapon up cautiously, waiting for an indication on the direction it came from. Another came flying at him, but Lexaeus deflected it. Who was shooting at him?

"Be a man and fight me face to face!" he challenged, glancing around. A barrage of bullets began to fly in his direction. So many that Lexaeus had to dive out of the way, narrowly avoiding them; he frowned deeply from the ground. "Coward."

Lexaeus raised his tomahawk into the air, allowing it to linger for only a moment before he brought it crashing down to the earth once again. Almost instantaneously, the ground began to rumble. A slight cry of surprise could be heard, but that was all that Lexaeus needed. He had found his target and bolted from his spot with speed that one wouldn't expect from such a large man. Lexaeus found him hiding behind a bush on the hill nearby. The man had realized his mistake and backed away quickly, shooting wildly in the other's direction. It was futile and, after quite a while of attempting to run away, the sharpshooter soon found a large tomahawk holding him down on the ground.

"Hey, man, don't be so touchy," he said with a laugh.

"Why exactly did you feel the need to shoot at me, especially without warning?" Lexaeus asked, frowning down at him in disapproval.

"Wanted to test you," his would-be 'assassin' explained. "You've gotten better."

"While I greatly appreciate the effort, it really wasn't necessary," Lexaeus sighed and shook his head. Then they were silent. A few moments like that passed where neither spoke, allowing for complete silence before Xigbar finally spoke again.

"Are you going to let me up now?"

"Of course not," Lexaeus stated, leaning slightly on his tomahawk. Xigbar winced and groaned at the pressure.

"Great…" he muttered. "Can you at least tell me what's going on? Y'know, since we're obviously going to be here for a while. I hate being stuck in the dark."

"That, I suppose, I can do," Lexaeus said, a slight smirk crossing his features. "As I'm sure you've figured out, we're dead."

"Yeah, guessed that," Xigbar rolled his eyes, but was silenced by the large weapon pressing into his ribs.

"And we've been sent here to complete a sort of mission…"

"How lame… ow! What was that for?" Xigbar snapped, glaring up at the larger man.

"I could do without the commentary," Lexaeus told him, annoyed. However, he didn't get much further in way of an explanation. At that moment, Lexaeus spotted Axel as he appeared on the path, heading in their direction. And Luxord was with him! "Damn…" Lexaeus picked up his tomahawk, relieving the other of his discomfort.

"Well, that's more…" Xigbar didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Lexaeus picked him up by the shirt and threw him into the bushes. "What's the big idea?"

"Shh…" Lexaeus hushed him, placing a finger to his lips and ducking into the hiding place as well. "We have traitors in our midst."

"Axel?" Xigbar frowned deeply.

"Along with Marluxia and Larxene," Lexaeus finished for him. "No doubt they've turned Luxord against us as well. He's with them and doesn't seem to be struggling." Xigbar looked rather discontent for a moment before he began to smirk, an idea forming.

"Then we'll just have to teach them the consequences of turning their backs on the Organization," he said, pulling his guns out once more, a manic look in his eyes.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Lexaeus smirked as well. The two of them then stood, emerging from their hiding place. They then charged directly at the small group, catching everybody off-guard. Axel was the first to draw his weapons and, thus, the battle had begun. The animals did not stay to watch this one, for they knew that great danger was afoot.

Lexaeus did a rather excellent job of holding his own against Axel and Marluxia. Xigbar wouldn't let Luxord and Larxene near him and was shooting at them like a mad man. It was to be expected that the two senior members of the Organization learned to fight more than one skilled fighter at a time. In the heat and confusion of battle, not one of them noticed the sun sinking slowly below the horizon. As the remaining rays of light dipped beyond the hills there was a bright flash of light. All six had to quickly shield their eyes with their hands and various objects. Axel knew instantly what had happened and scurried out of the way of the now giant tomahawk, for Lexaeus had also been rather quick on the uptake and took the opportunity to attempt to crush the fox.

It took Xigbar and Luxord a few moments to register what had just happened to them. Once that was accomplished, they panicked. Luxord reared back on his hind legs, whinnying in surprise. Xigbar managed to run in a large circle, finally stopping when he ran straight into Lexaeus' leg, leaving quite a few of his needles there. Axel continued to attempt to attack Lexaeus, using different methods to get close to him without being squished, also due to the fact that he could no longer hold his chakrams. It looked as though Lexaeus was rather outnumbered when a great howl could be heard from atop the nearby hill. Marluxia frowned deeply and turned his head to look, unnerved by the savage animal. The wolf came barreling down and straight for Axel. The fox didn't even have a chance to react as he was hit at full speed with sharp teeth and claws.

Axel yelped in pain and attempted to fight back, but it was futile with the wolf, which was nearly twice his size. Axel could feel the wolf's teeth break the skin and a red liquid began trickling out of its mouth and down his side. Axel's struggling was useless and most likely only managed to impale him further. Eventually, Larxene figured out a solution and hit the wolf with a rock, causing it to yelp. It tossed Axel to the side and snarled at her. Larxene brandished her weapons and called to Marluxia, who was occupied with calming down Luxord as Lexaeus was occupied with ridding his leg of porcupine needles. He glanced to Larxene as she called and saw her nod to Axel. For a moment he hesitated, wondering what the consequences would be if he simply left him there to die. He then decided that the risk was far too great. He scooped up the fox his arms, wary of the blood as it soaked his sleeves. He then called to Larxene and turned away from the battle to run in the opposite direction. Larxene took the hint and pulled Luxord, steering him right after them.

Lexaeus glanced up and saw that they had gotten away. He frowned deeply, disappointed that they hadn't finished the fight, but it was beyond his control now. He put away the mighty tomahawk and turned to look at the wolf. Its eyes were still savage, despite the fact that it had calmed down considerably.

"Saïx…"

Lexaeus had been right in assuming the others were long gone—and now they were desperately looking for some place to help Axel. Anywhere would do for them at the moment. It was difficult, however, considering that they were stuck in the middle of nowhere. Marluxia was growing quite impatient and only slightly worried that they would lose Axel in their attempt to find him a place to rest. A farm house appeared in the distance and Marluxia was relieved, mostly due to the fact that it had just begun to rain. They were all drenched by the time they reached the door to the farmhouse, save Axel, who Marluxia had managed to shield. He pounded impatiently on the door as Larxene and Luxord waited behind him, equally as restless.

"Good gods!" a woman exclaimed as she opened the door. "Don't y'all know what time it—?"

"Sorry to bother you," Marluxia said quickly. "But this little guy here needs help right away." Her eyes widened as she eyes Axel beneath Marluxia's protective grasp.

"Oh, my word! Why didn't ya say so in the first place? Come in, come in!" She stepped aside. "Sir… would you like to put your horse in the barn?" Luxord looked quite put out by that comment indeed.

"No way, lady," Larxene frowned. "The horse comes with us. He can fit." The look she had upon her face at the moment was just daring the lady to protest. She looked like she might, in fact, when Marluxia spoke up.

"We'll pay you extra," he said quickly. "Now, if you please? We don't have much time."

The woman led them to an empty room and sat them down on a bed, urging them to lay Axel there as well, telling them to never mind about the sheets. She then disappeared, only to return with a full first-aid kit. Marluxia took it from her as Larxene sat in the corner of the room with Luxord (who was only halfway inside). It wasn't long before both Marluxia and the woman were tending to Axel's wounds. It was bad, the woman noted, but said that he would live. Axel was grateful to hear that. Luxord was muttering to himself in the corner, seemingly trying to make sense of everything that was happening to him. Axel decided to ignore him and simply focused his attention on those tending to him. As soon as he was bandaged, he felt Marluxia pick him up again, realizing then that he really hated being manhandled, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment to prevent it. The woman changed the sheets as Marluxia stood up and then Axel was placed on the bed where he quickly dozed off to sleep. Larxene took the time to do her best to coax Luxord inside and make him lie down so that he was finally comfortable. Marluxia figured that she would just make Luxord's mood worse, but there would be no sense in arguing with her. Instead, he left the room and shut the door softly behind him, running a hand through his hair.

"Y'all need more than one room for the night or will that do?" the woman asked him.

"If it's not too much trouble we'd appreciate two rooms." He flashed her a smile and she nodded.

"No trouble at all!" she smiled as well. "We've all kinds of strange folk like you comin' around these parts lately."

"Have you?" he raised an eyebrow, slightly interested to hear what she had to say about that.

"Yep," she confirmed. "Not too long before y'all showed up another little girl did. Poor thing looked so lost and kept asking about a boy." Marluxia's eyes flashed as she spoke. She didn't notice it, but anyone else would have been chilled by the way his lips spread into a predatory smile.

"Really?" he asked, listening intently now. "Did she happen to mention her name at all?"

"I do believe she did," the woman nodded, thinking for a moment. "I think she said it was Naminé… why?"

"I know who that is," he grinned. "She got separated from us. This is very fortunate. You're a lifesaver, madam."

"Oh, yeah! That's good. I felt horrible for the poor dear. I had to give her a cup o' tea and send her straight to bed," she sighed, shaking her head.

"And rightly so," Marluxia assured her, taking her hands in his and kissing one of them. "Thank you very much for finding her for me. Do you mind if I wake her up in the morning? I'm sure it will be a very nice surprise for her."

"O-oh. No," the woman shook her head, blushing a deep shade of red. "Go right ahead.

"Thank you very much, once again," his grin widened and he kissed her hand again before returning to the room, hardly able to contain his glee.

END CHAPTER 3

Thank you again to all my reviewers! You guys keep me going! The next chapter is written. I just need to type it. Once again, thank you all and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Always,

Lily


	4. Chapter 4: A Need to Explain

Façade

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

Rating: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

Summary: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I'm very happy, thank you all! I've been really busy as of late (and by busy I mean sitting at school and writing this whole thing by hand -sniff-). The chapter's finally here though! I know, bad fanfic author, but real life did get in the way and I had to stop all fanficing activities for a bit. It's here, though! So anyhow, the first glimpse of any kind of pairing is placed here, but it's really not much at the moment. These pairings glimpsed in this chapter may be in later chapters, or they may fall apart or you may never see them again. I hope you enjoy! Answers to reviews are at the bottom because it's getting lengthy.

-------------------------------------

Chapter 4: A Need to Explain

The door opened slowly and shut just as softly, the slightly creaking hinges had no effect on the girl and she continued to sleep. A bird that was resting on the windowsill flew away quickly to hide from the new stranger. Marluxia smirked at the girl's sleeping form on the bed. _So innocent_, he mused. He crawled over her onto the bed, placing on hand and knee on either side of her. He bent down then and whispered softly into her ear.

"Good morning, my little angel," he smirked and brushed his lips against her ear. "It's time to wake up now." Naminé's eyes shot open upon hearing his voice. A voice that had haunted her dreams for the past year. She tried to scream, but his hand shot out the second she opened her mouth, stifling her cries for help. "Hush now. No reason to scream. I won't bite you this time."

She gave up on screaming and occupied herself with covering her nude body as he took his hand away from her mouth. She was scared. Scared by his mere presence. She stared at him in fear as he spoke once more.

"It's certainly lovely to see you, my pet," he said, grinning almost manically. "Now, I realize that you must be very upset with me because of certain events beyond our control, but I hope we can put those little details behind us for now. I would like us to be able to cooperate without any hassle, hm? As I see it, we're all in danger because of a few certain senior members of the Organization. You can choose to trust me or wander around by yourself and possibly be killed for disobeying them. It's your choice, my dear."

Naminé hesitated, her fear for him quite evident in her eyes. His dark blue eyes locked onto hers, waiting ever so patiently for her response. She didn't want to trust him, and he knew that. Nevertheless, she nodded, causing his smirk to widen.

"O-okay…" she said meekly. She hated how weak she sounded whenever he was near. It made her feel so unprotected.

"I knew my little flower would come through for me," he stated. He leaned down and placed a feather light kiss atop her forehead. He grinned and then crawled back off of the bed to return to the others. She sat up as he stood and headed to the door, still holding the covers over her chest.

"I… did you…?"

"I didn't touch your clothes," he told her, stopping in the doorway and tilting his head back to look at her. "You were like that when I entered the room." She frowned deeply at that, not sure if she should believe him or not.

He took note of her expression and sighed, turning back around and moving to sit down next to her on the bed. If she wasn't going to believe him, he would just have to explain things to her.

"I suppose there's no gentle way for me to put this. You turn into an animal at night," he explained, running a hand through his hair. "That being said, animals can't wear clothes, so you simply fell out of them." Naminé's frown deepened and she looked down at the blanket. "Now, kindly get yourself dressed and be downstairs in five minutes. Otherwise, I'm coming up to drag you down, clothed or not." She nodded and he stood to leave. It was then that she spoke once more.

"Okay… but… if I do go with you," she paused for a second and glanced up at him. "If I go with you, you have to help me find Roxas," she finally stated, her expression set. He stopped dead in the doorway and whirled around to glare at her.

"What?" he demanded.

"I… I… you have to help me find Roxas," she said, more firmly this time. Her expression wavered for just a moment, but a second later it was back. For that brief moment, she thought he would kill her. Instead, he pulled the door open and left the room. She knew then, that was the closest to a yes that she would ever get.

Naminé smiled slightly to herself and changed back into her dress. She made sure she smoothed out the wrinkles before slipping her shoes back on as well. She then pulled open the door and headed downstairs to spot Marluxia with Larxene. Neither of them noticed as the younger girl approached.

"That hag is getting nosy," Larxene was telling him. "She's started to ask stupid questions, like where did the horse and fox go since last night? Why are there two extra men? Things like that. It's getting annoying."

"Not to mention dangerous. We can't have her talking about any of this," Marluxia agree, putting a finger to his chin in thought. "That will lead the others right to us. I'll have to take care of this."

"No!" Naminé exclaimed. She hurled herself at Marluxia and threw her arms around his waist to stop him. Larxene glared at her, but Naminé paid no attention to her. "You can't! She was kind to me and to you all too! Don't hurt her." Marluxia said nothing and simply peeled the girl off of him and shoved her at Larxene, who held her in place. He then turned and went into the next room where the woman was.

"Ma'am?" he asked.

"Would you care to explain the extra guests and the lack of animals in my home?" she demanded. To anybody else, the question would have almost seemed comical, but Marluxia simply lifted a hand.

"Now, now," he frowned at her. "What makes you think _I_ can explain this? I'm a simple traveler, after all."

"B-but… your horse… there was a man…" Marluxia placed a finger to her lips gently to silence her.

"Shh," he coaxed her. "Let's just forget about this and say that the world is just full of surprises. Okay?" He waved his hand and produced a single rose from thin air. He put it to his nose to smell it before handing it graciously to her. The woman blushed and took the flower, her eyes widening.

"I… are you…?"

"I am a simple traveler, ma'am," he repeated, grinning. "Good day. Thank you kindly for your hospitality." He turned and head back out of the room toward Naminé and Larxene. "Happy?" he asked Naminé, who flushed slightly and nodded.

"Erm… y'all can come back any time!" she called. Marluxia turned and flashed her a charming smile before ushering the two females outside to meet Axel and Luxord. The former didn't have much of a reaction to seeing Naminé, but Luxord frowned deeply.

"Another traitor," he grumbled. Somehow, he had a deck of cards in his hand and he was flipping through them lazily.

"You're not exactly their favorite anymore either," Larxene snapped. Naminé had to wonder if Larxene was actually sticking up for her, but then decided that she couldn't be. It was Larxene after all. Naminé decided that, with this crowd, it was best to stay close to Marluxia. She stood close behind him, frowning slightly.

"Where are we" she asked him. He glanced down at her, though surprised to see her so close. He sighed softly and placed a hand on her head.

"Eterra," he stated simply. "It's a special world, I suppose you could say. We can't leave it by gummi. The people here have never even heard of a gummi ship."

"Why are we here?" she asked, glancing around and taking in the scenery.

"I guess it's where we go when we die," he said, running a hand through his hair. He looked at Larxene, hoping for help, but she just grinned and waved him on.

"But… I didn't die," she protested. "I merged with Kairi, my other. I'm not dead…"

"It doesn't matter," he said, growing not only irritated but as confused as she seemed to be. "We've talked about this before." Naminé looked down as he went on. "If you merge with your other that's wonderful for them, but the Nobody dies. That means you, my dear, are as dead as the rest of us."

"Oh…" she frowned, still staring down at the ground as Marluxia coaxed her into walking with them now. "Where's Roxas?"

"If I knew where he was, do you think we'd be looking for him?" Marluxia asked, rolling his eyes. Axel imitated his actions, rolling his eyes and groaning inwardly.

"I know she's still got this Marluxia hero-worship," Axel muttered to Larxene. "But even she's got to know he's far from any kind of miracle worker."

"She's pathetic," Larxene snapped, clearly annoyed. "Look at her hanging all over him. Disgusting…"

"If he's really going to let her cling to him, it's his deal," Axel shrugged. He didn't really care about that so much.

"Larxene, Axel," Marluxia turned back to them to catch their attention. "We're going to head back to where we began."

"Where you picked me up?" Axel asked, cocking an eyebrow. Marluxia frowned at him and nodded as if it were obvious before turning around and leading them back there.

Zexion was quite far east. In fact, he was about a mile from the shrine. However, the village he was in looked far from what he'd expect from the holy city. Each building was still smoldering from the recent wildfire. Very few people were actually there, but those who were took to staring at the newcomer, possibly because he was much cleaner than any of them there. Zexion paid them no mind and focused on following his nose. It was then that he heard music from somewhere nearby. Of course… Zexion smirked slightly and approached the Melodious Nocturne silently, waiting for him to finish his song.

It was beautiful music, there was no doubt about that, but Zexion didn't care about that. He needed the young Nobody creating the music. Once Demyx hit the final chord, Zexion reached out and placed his hands gently on Demyx's shoulders.

"That was beautiful," he said softly. "You've always had such amazing talent, if I do say so myself." Demyx nearly jumped out of his skin and glanced back at the hands on his shoulders.

"No, wait… you're dead!" Demyx exclaimed. Zexion had to resist the powerful urge to roll his eyes.

"As are you," he told him. "But there's no reason to be alone and afraid in death. I'm here for you."

"Huh? No, you're wrong," Demyx told him. "I'm not dead. I think I'd remember something like that." He laughed a little, though it was shaky, nervous.

"And what exactly do you remember?"

"I… um… remember fighting the kid with the Keyblade and…" Demyx frowned for a moment, thinking before his eyes shot open. "No way!"

"I'm afraid so," Zexion answered him. "But now we can be together. Just the two of us. I even have a place for us to stay." Zexion kept a firm grip on the other's shoulders, leaning down further to speak softly into his ear. "I can show you what it's like to have a heart."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Demyx seemed interested then, albeit scared. Hook, line, and sinker. Zexion smirked to himself.

"Come with me. I can show you what it's like… and I can get you one. All you have to do is trust me." Zexion trailed his hands down Demyx's arms, then finally released him so that the younger Nobody could turn to face him. Demyx studied him closely, trying to determine if it as really him.

"I… okay…" Demyx said, staring into his eyes, as if searching for the truth in them. "Take me with you…" Zexion reached out his hand to take Demyx's, but suddenly there was a weapon flying at his face. Zexion's eyes widened for a second before moving out of the way of danger, frowning deeply. Marluxia? Damn. Zexion was not fit to face him at the moment. He had no means to fight him. Demyx, on the other hand… Zexion backed away to hide from both Demyx and his attacker, hoping the other wouldn't immediately turn Demyx against him.

"Roxas!" Demyx exclaimed.

Zexion cursed his luck, frowning deeply at the sight. Roxas had always been far too close to Axel. That was undoubtedly why he attacked him. All he had to do was come up with a good plan on the spot.

"May I be of assistance?" a voice behind him asked. Zexion whipped around to face somebody who he actually did want to see—Xaldin. Finally someone who he could trust without manipulating him—all that much anyway.

"Why did you do that?" Demyx asked Roxas, frowning, looking around for where Zexion could have gone to. "He was going to…"

"I heard what he promised you," Roxas told him, also glancing around for Zexion, but for a different reason entirely. "He can't make you empty promises like that. He's the most heartless out of all of us. He probably doesn't even remember what it's like to have a heart." Demyx frowned as Roxas spoke.

"Hey… why'd you betray us?" he asked, changing the subject.

"That doesn't matter," Roxas said, grabbing the other's arm. "We need to find Axel and Naminé." Demyx nodded, but glanced back in Zexion's direction.

"Okay, if you say so!" Roxas dragged him away from the burned village, leaving Zexion and Xaldin hiding in the bushes.

"Has he also turned his back on the Organization?" Xaldin asked, frowning deeply as he emerged from hiding.

"I'm afraid so," Zexion sighed softly. "We must find the others who are still faithful to the Superior."

It was good to have more members now, but Saïx never was what Lexaeus considered to be good company. Xigbar, though slightly insane, was much more pleasant to talk to. Vexen, however, insisted that they all be together to discuss quite a few very important matters. What those matters were remained to be found out.

"Zexion should rejoin us within the next twenty-four hourse," Vexen explained. "As you all know now, Luxord has seemingly abandoned the Organization. We can not let that happen with the other members. We must find them first and rid the world of those traitors!"

"Who is there left to find?" Saïx inquired.

"As I see it," Lexaeus interjected. "Xaldin, Demyx, Roxas, Naminé, and the Superior."

"We must not lose any of them to betrayal," Vexen stated loudly, getting everybody to focus on him once more. "We must fight back! Agreed?"

"Yeah, yeah," Xigbar said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table. "What're we going to do with the traitors once we find them?" Vexen smirked then, clearly amused.

"A very good question there," he told him. "Eliminate them. By any means necessary."

END CHAPTER FOUR

---------------------------------------------

Answering reviews now!

_RiosMasquerade_ – Truthfully, no other animal seemed to fit Saïx. He was the easiest to figure out, actually. Thank you so much for the review. I really appreciate it. And you review so quickly. I'm amazed. I'm very glad that you're enjoying this.

_The White Raven013_ – Yay! I'm glad you liked the fight scene. I worked extra hard to make it interesting. Thank you very much.

_spazwriter14_ – Awww. I love you too! I'll update as quickly as I can. I'm so glad you enjoy reading my work.

_Piro Flare_ – Thank you very much.

_Destinedtobeforgotten_ – Hee. Yes. Luxord is a horse. He's not too happy about it, but I'm glad it amuses you.

_Aya Lorin_ – Wow, I didn't even think of Ritsu when I was writing this. xD That's interesting. I'm glad you like it.

_minnet _– Thank you! I was hoping it was different. I wanted to be original.

_Lady KeyBlade_ – I've actually already got animals in mind for the two of them. I'm glad you're enjoying this.


	5. Chapter 5: A Strange Denial

Façade

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

Rating: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

Summary: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

A/N: School really does suck. It's becoming more difficult to write and update with the teachers tossing large amounts of work at me. I'll still update, it'll just be extraordinarily slow. Oh, and if anybody is wondering why I chose certain animals, feel free to PM me. I'm willing to explain it, if anybody thinks I could have chosen better. Secondly, if someone wants to be my beta, it would be most appreciated. I would really like one, so if your interested, PM me or email, or IM me or something. Just get in contact with me and we'll talk. On with the fic!

-------------------------------------

Chapter 5: A Strange Denial

A small field mouse poked its head out of its den, very wary of its surroundings. It was quickly growing dark and many predators were already on the prowl. The mouse raised its tiny nose into the air. There was a strange smell. One the mouse had never experienced before and, quite frankly, it was growing nervous. The scent grew nearer and the mouse scurried back into its burrow just as the heavy footsteps of strangers fell onto the ground, exactly where it had been standing moments ago.

"Are we there yet?" Axel asked for the fourth time. It was quite obvious that it was greatly annoying Marluxia (along with everybody else), but that was the whole purpose. Marluxia tilted his head back to glare at the redhead.

"Stop complaining," he commanded. "We'll get there when we get there. Now knock it off."

"It's getting dark," Axel pointed out, though it really should have been obvious as they were walking toward the setting sun. "So it'd be great if we got there soon. Y'know, unless you have this secret desire to carry me again."

"Yes, Axel, I understand," Marluxia snapped, turning forward and bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "We'll be there soon. You're not the one who has to worry about anything."

Marluxia had been right. They reached a small town with some time to spare before nightfall. Though he didn't say so, Luxord was grateful for that as well. As it would seem, he didn't particularly enjoy turning into a horse, then have to explain why he was in the horse's room in the morning. Marluxia turned to everyone and sighed. The group paused, waiting for him to say something.

"This won't be the best place to stay, but it's all we have at the moment," he told them, more to Naminé than anybody else.

"Basically," Larxene intervened. "You'll like it or sleep in their barn." That silenced any brewing protests anybody may have had. Marluxia purchased the rooms (one for each of them) and gave each their room key. Luxord, Axel and Naminé quickly headed to theirs, not wanting to change form in the middle of the lobby area. Marluxia walked Naminé into her room and shut the door behind him. He tucked her into bed and sat down next to her.

"Why are you being so kind to me?" she asked, curiously.

"Am I?" he cocked an eyebrow at her as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair, rather gently. "Would you prefer I change that?" he asked, giving her hair a slight tug.

"No, it's not that," she said quickly, wincing as her hair was pulled. He actually laughed as she spoke. Naminé couldn't help but frown up at him. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing," he assured her, actually smiling. She studied him for a moment, feeling quite lost and confused. She had never actually seen him smile before. He would smirk more often than not, and that frightened her. This, however, was a genuine smile. It was a nice one too. She was curious as to what could have prompted it.

"Okay…" she said finally, feeling slightly hesitant to let the subject drop. "If you insist."

"I do," he stated, absently pulling up the covers to tuck her in, almost as gentle as he'd been acting before. "It's almost dark. I should leave you be." He bent his head down to kiss her forehead lightly. "Goodnight."

He stood and exited the room, stealing one more glance at the girl before closing the door gently behind him. A brilliant flash of light signalled her transformation into whatever animal she would become, but Marluxia ignored it and approached Larxene, who had gotten herself a glass of something alcoholic.

"Well?" she asked after taking a swig from the mug.

"Well what?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes and set the glass down. "Is it an involuntary reaction now? You have sakura petals coming out your ears."

"Hm? Oh," he said, smiling slightly and reaching up to catch one between his thumb and index finger. "Imagine that." Larxene rolled her eyes again and picked up the glass to take another drink.

"Whatever," she snapped, crossing one arm over her lap. "So… what do you think?"

"Well, I do think my suspicions have been confirmed," he said, sitting down in a chair next to her and crossing his legs. "The animals we turn into vaguely represent our personalities in some fashion." Larxene made a soft noise and thought for a few moments on his words.

"I guess that would make sense…" she nodded. "But why?"

"What do you mean 'why?'" he frowned at her. "I don't know why."

"Well, you're acting all high and mighty and deducting all of this stuff," she informed him turning slightly to poke his chest. "At least make a guess to match up to your ego." He frowned back at her, but thought, considering all explanations.

"Fine," he sighed. "It could be that we need these forms to save this world for some reason not known to us at this time."

"Then why do the others have them too?" Larxene asked, rather confused. "Like Vexen and all of them. It's doubtful that they'll save the world."

"They could be intended to be our allies," Marluxia suggested. Larxene let out a short laugh.

"You're full of good jokes today! Tell me another one," she exclaimed, shaking her head. "There's no way that they'll work with us."

"You told me to come up with a theory, so I did," Marluxia snapped, growing more irritated by the second. "You didn't say that it had to be one you would believe."

"Okay, fine!" she rolled her eyes again and downed the glass of whatever she was drinking. "You go on thinking you impossible hypotheses. I'm going to bed." She stood and set her glass down on the end table next to the chair and turned toward her room. She stopped dead then and stared at the door closest to them. "Who's in that room?"

"Axel," Marluxia answered, frowning and standing up as well to glance around her. "Why do you ask?" Larxene pointed to his door where bright flashes of light seemed to be going off every five seconds. Larxene glanced over at Marluxia's shocked face and grinned.

"I always knew he was a fast learner," she said, punching him lightly on the arm and heading for her room.

----------------------------------

I hadn't been a long walk back to the meeting place, but it did take longer than usual due to Xaldin's transformation. Luckily, the lancer seemed to know what exactly would happen to him and when, thus saving Zexion the trouble of calming a frantic raccoon. Had he any feelings, Zexion may have laughed at the animal, or maybe he wouldn't have. It would have been rude. Either way he was rather grateful, as he suddenly realized that becoming a weasel wasn't quite as cruel a fate as he'd once imagined it.

When dawn broke, they travelled the rest of the way to the meeting place Vexen had set up. Lexaeus seemed quite glad to see his comrade. He told him of Xigbar, who was still asleep, and Saïx, who was taking a shower. Zexion sat down in an armchair near the hallway and put a finger to his chin in thought.

"Now we really only need to find the Superior," he mused, biting his lip gently.

"What of Demyx and Roxas?" Lexaeus asked, bringing out a tea cup and offering it to Zexion, who politely shook his head to decline.

"No good," he said, while Xaldin gratefully took the tea. "I lost them."

"You lost them?" Saïx asked from the bathroom doorway, apparently out of the shower. "I've never heard of anything so incompetent since Number Nine joined the Organization."

"I wouldn't be mouthing off, if I were you," Zexion told him coolly. "I am still your superior."

"Before you begin to demand the respect that comes with being a senior member," Saïx began, "it would do you well to earn it."

"And you need to realize your place," Zexion stated, crossing his arms. "If respect is given where it is due, then it's no wonder the other members speak of you in the manner that they do."

"I deserve more respect than you ever have," Saïx sneered.

"If respect comes in the form of posing as the Superior's lapdog," Zexion countered.

Saïx growled and Lexaeus could see a storm coming quickly, so he intervened in the knick of time. Zexion had far too much pride to end it himself, Lexaeus knew that much. Judging by the expression on Xaldin's face, he knew it too.

"We need to come up with a plan," Lexaeus stated loudly to draw their attention. "To find the Superior before…"

"We're going to look for the Superior?" Xigbar grinned, coming out of the bedroom, his hair not yet in its usual ponytail and hanging loosely down his back. "Cool."

"Don't be ridiculous," Saïx snapped, glaring at Lexaeus for even mentioning the idea. "I don't believe that the Keyblade master could defeat our Superior. I doubt he will be joining us at any point soon."

Perhaps it was simply the funny way that life planned itself, or maybe it was simply that he was waiting for the most dramatic moment to make his entrance, but, as if on cue, the door burst open. Everyone turned their heads in time to watch as the aforementioned Superior walked through the door.

-----------------------------------

Axel groaned and stretched as he awoke. It was a lazy day and he really didn't want to wake up just yet. He got dressed and emerged from his room, walking directly toward the bar. The first person he spotted was Luxord, who was wrapped up in an exciting game of solitaire. The gambler glanced up when Axel sat down across from him, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Ah, a worthy opponent!" he exclaimed. "Fancy a quick game?"

"No way," Axel told him. "You cheat."

"I do not," Luxord protested, defensively. "I'm just lucky."

"Right, if you mean that you got lucky when you acquired the ability to stop time and look at my cards," he said, rolling his eyes. Luxord didn't have time to retort as Marluxia approached, brushing his hair.

"Good morning," he beamed at them.

"What's so good about it?" Axel asked resentfully, cocking an eyebrow and resting his elbows on the table.

"Someone was dealt a bad hand this morning," Luxord muttered, gathering his cards and placing them almost affectionately back into the box, returning it then to his pocket. Marluxia, however, waved a hand, dismissing the statement.

"Don't worry about him," he told Luxord, softly, almost as if consoling a child. "It's to be expected." It would seem that both Axel and Luxord were quite confused by that statement, but Marluxia went on before either could inquire as to why they should expect it. "Anyway, I think we have a good chance at finding another member willing to join our cause."

"What makes you think that?" Axel asked, frowning.

"Just a hunch," he grinned in response.

"You know how I feel about your hunches," Axel said, suppressing a groan.

"Yes, I'm well-aware," Marluxia nodded, finally sitting down next to Luxord, across from Axel.

"Where are the ladies?" Luxord asked, curiously.

"You sure use that term lightly," Axel smirked, mostly speaking of Larxene. Marluxia, however, ignored their rude comrade and simply answered Luxord.

"I woke Naminé before joining you two," he told him. "She should be out here any minute now."

"And Larxene?" Luxord asked after a moment. Marluxia shook his head, eyeing him as though he were absolutely insane.

"We'll let her sleep," he said wisely. "We'll leave when she wakes up." Axel was quite surprised at that. So he'd finally learned not to disturb the little bug while she was getting her beauty sleep.

Naminé joined them shortly, exactly as Marluxia had predicted. She glanced at the three males and hesitated for a moment before picking up her chair and scooting it quite close to Marluxia's. Axel had the distinct feeling that she didn't trust him. He smirked slightly at her across the table, amused. Now all they had to do was wait for Larxene to wake up and get ready. That being said, they would be there for quite a while.

---------------------

Vexen examined the vile of thick red liquid for the fourth time that hour. He was growing increasingly irritated by the second. There was not one trace of anything out of the ordinary. He had played doctor for each member still with them, drawing their blood and taking it to the small laboratory he'd set up in his room. However, he hadn't found anything different from usual. The only real difference from before was that not one member had their cloaks, but there wasn't a scientific reason to explain that. In turn, that wasn't a scientific explanation for Nobodies turning into animals at night. Logic, for the first time, had failed him. But Vexen wasn't nearly ready to admit that.

Xemnas, quite obviously, had never been much of a fan of logic to begin with. Thus, when he declared that everything that happened recently must be the will of Kingdom Hearts, even Saïx looked a bit sceptical. However, no one dared to attempt to explain to him how wrong his theory probably was. Vexen had then taken refuge in his laboratory to find evidence to prove his own theory.

Zexion entered the room quietly and shut the door behind him, studying the scientist as he approached.

"Nothing?" he inquired, moving to stand next to Vexen at the long table. He bent down to stare into one of the vials, frowning.

"Nothing," Vexen echoed and set the test tube back in its place. "I don't understand it. How could science fail me?"

"Perhaps, in that case," Zexion started, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "The situation is and always has been out of our control."

A knock resounded at the door before Vexen could say another word. Before either Nobody could respond, Xaldin entered the room and motioned for the both of them to follow him. He looked greatly annoyed for some reason.

"Xemnas has called a meeting," he stated.

Oh, that was why.

He led them to the Superior's room where several chairs were set up facing their leader. He began to speak immediately after the three of them sat down. It was clear that the only one remotely interested at this point was Saïx.

"It is clear why we have been sent here," he began dramatically. "Kingdom Hearts. Gathering hearts in the other world was not nearly enough. It needs hearts from this world as well. We must appease it. Then we will be worthy enough to have the hearts we so greatly desire. We will succeed this time, for there is no Keyblade master to stop us. We will finally reach the goal that we strive for!" Xaldin bit his lip and cleared his throat, apparently still attempting to be respectful.

"I beg your pardon, sir," he said, averting Xemnas' eyes. "I don't mean to question your leadership, but how exactly do you intend to collect hears without the use of the Keyblade?"

"We have Roxas here, do we not?" Xemnas cocked an eyebrow.

"Actually, due to circumstances beyond our control," Zexion cut in. "We do not."

"Due to six's incompetence," Saïx stated, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair. Zexion shot him a glare.

"I've had quite enough of you," Zexion snapped. "It is rather difficult to persuade him as his Keyblade was flying through the air at my face."

"Then it would be in your best interests to use a weapon," Saïx stated, smirking over at him. "Then perhaps you would be of some use to us."

"Unfortunately for you, it also takes intelligence to be of some use. Perhaps that is why you stay here most of the time," Zexion said, looking very angry. That surprised both Vexen and Lexaeus greatly. "It takes more that brute strength and madness to complete a mission successfully."

Everything happened in a split second. Saïx lunged at him, but Xigbar and Xaldin had anticipated that reaction and grabbed him by the arms, dragging him backwards. Lexaeus took that opportunity to pull Zexion away by the shoulders and steer him out of the room. Vexen followed quickly behind them and into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. Zexion tried to pull away, but Lexaeus shoved him back against the wall and held him there.

"What in the world has gotten into you?" Lexaeus demanded, frowning deeply.

"This isn't my fault," Zexion told him, seeming to have calmed down considerably while not in the presence of the berserker. "And I'm not about to sit by and allow him to insult me."

"But this is so out of the ordinary for you," Vexen stated, mirroring Lexaeus' expression. "It was difficult to determine who was going to make the first move and attack first."

"You two should know me better than that," Zexion told him defensively, frowning as well and glancing between them.

"I wasn't sure at that point," Lexaeus sighed softly, his expression almost concerned. "It's not like you to nearly fly off the handle like that." Zexion opened his mouth a few times to protest, but closed it again each time before finally speaking.

"I… forgive me," he said, looking away from his comrades. "I'm not entirely sure what came over me in there. I assure you, it will not happen again." Lexaeus and Vexen glanced at each other before the larger of the two released Zexion's shoulders. He brushed him self off and looked back up at the other two.

"So," Vexen said after a rather uncomfortable silence. "I suppose the Superior will want us to persuade Roxas to search the land and destroy all the Heartless."

"What Heartless?" Zexion demanded, shaking his head. "We've been here for a year and have yet to see one."

"So us being here couldn't be the will of Kingdom Hearts," Lexaeus mused. "If it doesn't exist here, it couldn't be its doing." Vexen frowned in thought.

"He can't lead us," Zexion stated. Lexaeus and Vexen glanced at him. "You were thinking it, I said it. He doesn't understand this world."

"I'm not sure he even understood the other one," Lexaeus shook his head with a sigh. "We collected hearts for several years and, quite obviously, not one member received one of their own."

"We're on our own then," Vexen noted. "Only Saïx is willing to follow him still, I'm sure."

"Exactly," Zexion nodded. "So it's just the five of us. We can't let on to this. We'll have to work secretly."

"I'm going to the shrine," Lexaeus announced suddenly. Zexion and Vexen both glanced over at him, surprised.

"Why?" Vexen asked. "If Xemnas finds out…"

"Yes, I know," Lexaeus held up a hand to halt him. "Tell him that I went to find Roxas." Zexion bit his lip, feeling hesitant.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," he told him.

"What other options do we have?" Lexaeus asked him. "If Xemnas finds out, then it's my neck, not yours." Zexion frowned. He honestly didn't want Lexaeus to go because he knew Xemnas would be angry, however, he knew he would never be able to persuade his comrade otherwise.

"Very well," Zexion stated, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "Go. But be careful. We do need you."

"Of course," Lexaeus offered him the smallest of smiles and turned to leave. He pulled the door open and Zexion watched until it shut behind him. He then glanced at Vexen, who seemed to be examining him.

"What?" he demanded.

"Interesting…" he muttered. Xemnas exited his bedroom, a stern look plastered upon his features, clearly directing it to Zexion.

"Six, I do not approve of the behaviour you exhibited earlier," he said. "Therefore, you will go in search of thirteen. Bring him back here as soon as possible." Zexion and Vexen both frowned deeply.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked. "Sir, with all due respect, I…"

"You will bring thirteen and nine to me by any means necessary. I will accept them in any state as long as they are still alive," Xemnas stated. "Worry not; you will have help, should you fail again."

"Sir, are you sure…"

"That is an order, six," he stated sternly. "I will not accept any excuses. Bering at least one of them back or don't come back at all." He turned from them and headed back into the other room. Zexion glared after him, slightly nervous. Vexen, on the other hand, looked furious. Zexion had honestly never seen him in such a state.

"Has he forgotten who helped him further this silly dream he concocted in his idealistic head?" he asked.

"There's no use arguing with him, Vexen," Zexion shook his head, still staring at the door where the Superior had left them. "We'll simply find them and bring them back here. As long as he doesn't send me with Saïx…" he trailed off and glanced quickly over to Vexen, who gave him a look of pure pity.

-----------------------------

The sky was quickly growing dark. Most of the animals had taken refuge in their dens, slowly drifting off to sleep. The owls were just opening their eyes to search for their prey. Roxas stopped dead where he was, causing Demyx to collide with him. The former was feeling uneasy and he looked around, biting his lip gently. Demyx peered over Roxas' shoulder and sighed.

"We're totally lost, aren't we?" Roxas nodded, offering the musician an apologetic smile.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "We're really lost."

END CHAPTER FIVE

---------------------------------------------------

_Rios Masquerade_ – Wow. I'm honoured that you like my fanfic so much. Thank you for your enthusiasm, it really means a lot to me. And fear not, even if I discontinue the fic (which is unlikely) it won't be deleted at all. I promise you'll find out Demyx's animal in the next chapter. Thank you once again!

_Minnet_ – I'm glad you like it, yet I will state now that Demyx will not be an otter. It's just that he needed to be some kind of land animal, thus an otter wouldn't be quite appropriate. I do hope you like what he did end up turning into.

_Aya Kurayami_ – Thank you for your interest! I will definitely continue!

_AnimeDutchess_ – Thank you very much! I thought a fox was appropriate for Axel. It just seemed to fit.

_yuki hibiki_ – Thank you! I'm glad you like the concept. It amused me as well. I will certainly update when I get the chance. Though I'm a weird kid and don't like ice cream, I'll gladly accept the pixy stix.

_Ranma Higurashi_ – Eeeeee! Thank you!

_Kitty eats World_ – Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

_Axel's Girl_ – I'm glad I can please so many people. Thank you for your interest in it!

_EliasDaemonwing_ – I hope it didn't go too fast. I seem to be prone to that to get to the exciting stuff. I'm glad you're enjoying it thus far.

_spazwriter14_ – I must say that my grammar is far from perfect, but I do pride myself in keeping it as close to perfect as possible. Thank you very much!

_Lady KeyBlade_ – I updated! Now to get the next chapter out in a timely manner. That will be a trick, but I will attempt it!

_The White Raven013_ – Perhaps my Zexion obsession came out here as well. He's got a rather large part to play, in fact. Anyhow, I'm glad I can make you smile. I feel very special now. Unfortunately, as I stated to my other reviewer, the otter portion isn't going to work out, as he needed to be a land animal unless he wants to spend his life by the sea, thus I needed a better animal for that purpose only.

_Shido_ – I used an extra space to separate, but I suppose the page break works much better. I hope it made things easier to read. Thanks for your interest in the story and the suggestion!


	6. Chapter 6: Pursue the Truth

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

**A/N**: Wow… it's been a while. I've had this chapter written out by hand, I just haven't really had the time to type it up until now. I apologize for the long wait, but real life is being a bit of a bitch right now.

----------------------------------------------

**Chapter** **6:** **Pursue the Truth**

Though it had been warm further inland, the coastal area was relatively cold, especially as the sun had just disappeared from its spot in the sky. Several sea animals watched the foolish man approach the shrine. A rabbit, which had been in the middle of a meal, scurried behind a stone, but poked its head out to watch as well. Humans never really learned from their past mistakes at all.

Lexaeus paid no mind to any of the animals nearby. Distractions were not an option at the moment. He simply concentrated on the large stone at the top of the hill. It was difficult to believe that people worshiped and feared this simple rock, but he figured he may as well see if he could confirm the suspicions of the people around the continent. The rumors of men disappearing when they went alone were thoroughly ridiculous in his opinion. He glanced around and frowned when he spotted a young woman sitting on the ground nearby. It was certainly odd, as she hadn't been there before. He approached her slowly, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he knelt down in front of her, his brows creasing into a frown.

"Have you come to save me?" she asked, looking up at him. She was very pretty. She had jet black hair and crystal blue eyes, giving her a rather eerie look. Her face was red, but it was most likely due to the cold ocean air that had just started to pick up.

"Save you?" he inquired, glancing around. "No, that wasn't really my intention, but I suppose I could…" She smiled and stood, walking toward him, fixing him with that eerie gaze.

"My hero," she stated, leaning forward and latching onto the front of his shirt. He reached out and grabbed her wrists to pry her off.

"Yes, you're very welcome," he told her. "But what precisely am I saving you from?" It was then that she began to laugh. Her shrill cackle filled the air, more frightening than the gaze she still had him fixed with. Lexaeus began to slowly back away, but she held tight to his shirt with almost superhuman strength. It surprised Lexaeus as she had looked quite frail when he first approached her. "Ma'am?"

"Foolish human!" she exclaimed, smirking. "You have wandered into our domain! Now you will never leave!" Lexaeus lifted an eyebrow. She couldn't be serious… and yet she didn't quite look as though she were playing some sort of elaborate joke on a stranger, especially as she began to drag him toward the rock in the center of the shrine.

He attempted to protest, but she would have none of it. Suddenly, he felt a white hot pain coursing through his body—almost as if he were being ripped apart from the inside. He did his best not to show weakness, but when he did eventually try to cry out in pain, no sound came out. He glanced down at his feet just in time to see them disappear from under him. Then, everything went dark.

Lexaeus awoke in some sort of cave. However, it was difficult to tell, due to the severe lack of light. He wasn't even sure how he had managed to get there. He felt something wet on the back of his head, allowing him to assume that he's hit his head on something and was lying in a shallow puddle of his own blood. He lifted himself up into a sitting position, running his hand over the back of his head, though he couldn't see what it was. He sighed and glanced around, blinking, attempting to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Perhaps in the year that he'd been away from it, he had somehow become unfamiliar with it.

Soon enough, a faint light could be seen. Lexaeus squinted, wondering what it could be, attempting to make out the figure that was slowly approaching. He materialized his tomahawk, ready for whatever it could be. As the light got brighter, Lexaeus could make out the form of a young woman. It wasn't, however, the young girl whom he had encountered earlier. She had to have been the one who brought him to the cave.

He put his tomahawk away as she approached with a lit torch in her hand. As he opened his mouth to speak, she held up a hand, halting him. She said nothing, simply reached out her hand to help him up. He reached out as well, feeling obligated to accept her help. She then pulled him up with surprising strength, almost the same that the girl had earlier. She motioned for him to follow and, once again, Lexaeus was compelled to do as she wanted. He followed the light of her torch, absently rubbing his head where, he was almost positive that he was bleeding from.

The woman led him into a lavish chamber. There was another woman there, dressed far more outrageous than he had ever seen. She had a crown of golden leaves placed delicately upon her equally golden hair. Her dress was pure white—somehow, despite the dank cave. As Lexaeus stood before her, her lips spread into an almost predatory grin.

"Welcome!" she exclaimed, standing and stepping down from her throne, examining him as she did so. "My, you _are_ handsome."

"I… thank you…" he fumbled for words, but she merely nodded and made a gesture with her hand. The woman who brought him into the chamber seized him by the arm and dragged him toward another doorway. This time, they entered a much larger room, similar to the Olympus Coliseum. However, Lexaeus was distracted from the architecture by the amount of women who filled the stands. His eyes widened as he attempted to approximate the size of the crowd. There were hundreds of them at the very least and, what seemed to be worse was that they all seemed to fall silent as they laid eyes upon him.

After a moment, a few of the women who had been in the other room approached him, bringing a chair and a bowl of fresh fruit. They forced him down into the chair, and then offered to feed him forcibly. He frowned and attempted to stand and leave, but was immediately forced back into the chair. He began to protest, but immediately realized that it was a mistake. The females who had started giggling fell silent. A shocked silence instead of the seemingly awestruck silence that had occurred previously. Eventually, the young woman who had led him in wrenched him back up, dragging him back out the door to the queen.

"My queen!" she exclaimed, sounding enraged. "He refuses!" The queen said nothing. She only smirked and waved her hand. As they began to drag him away, she finally said something.

"If he refuses to stay, we will force him!" Lexaeus' protests fell upon deaf ears as they dragged him to a chamber, giving him the ability to watch the door slam behind them.

------------------------------

Zexion usually would have no problem with searching for members, especially traitors like Thirteen. What aggravated him was the fact that he was forced to look for him and Nine with Saïx. They would accomplish absolutely nothing with him around unless Xemnas didn't mind having two mangled carcasses dropped at his doorstep where members should have been.

Zexion looked up when Saïx announced that they were approaching a village. He would have been pleased with such a thing, but when he saw which village it was, he groaned and glanced over at the other Nobody. It was a holy village. An extremist holy village. The exact village that Lexaeus had told him never to go within a ten mile radius of, lest he wish to be kidnapped and kept as their personal god for a little less than a week. Zexion wasn't particularly keen on entering a village of fantasies.

"I think it would be in our best interests to go around," he told Saïx. The other Nobody snorted and looked over at him.

"I think I have learned not to trust your judgment," he stated.

"It would do you well to listen to me this time," Zexion snapped, growing irritated. "I know this land far better than you. I really think you should listen to my advice now."

"The Superior sent you here to assist me in the capture of Thirteen," Saïx reminded him. "He didn't send you to avoid possible places that Thirteen may be."

"If Thirteen is at all intelligent, he would have avoided this place too," Zexion grumbled. "I really, really suggest that we avoid this place at all costs."

"And we're really, really done talking about this," Saïx snapped mockingly. "Let's go."

"You're sending us directly into the lion's den…" Zexion sighed, not moving from where he was standing.

"End of discussion," Saïx said, glancing back at him. "Start walking." Zexion crossed his arms over his chest. Saïx growled and grabbed him by the elbow, dragging him in the direction of the village. Zexion wrenched his arm away after a moment's struggle before following him. He was reluctant, but if Saïx was to send them to an early grave, he would prefer to go dignified and at his own will, at least for now.

Upon arriving, Saïx immediately regarded the town with intense dislike. There was a cross hanging from every door and a temple was obviously the town's most important building. Saïx glanced over at Zexion, who, in turn, gave Saïx a look that plainly said 'I told you so.'

"Where are all the people?" Saïx asked, more to himself than to Zexion.

"The temple," Zexion answered him, pointing. "Here, they pray until noon. As I said, if Thirteen knows what's good for him, he will stay as far away from this place as possible. We should follow that example and leave before prayer is over."

"Oh?" Saïx actually chuckled. "And what are religious fanatic villagers going to do us?"

"You'd be surprised," Zexion said, in quite a hurry at the moment, grabbing Saïx's arm. "I'll explain once we get out of here." The sun was high in the sky, allowing Zexion to assume that it was nearly noon, meaning they did not have very much time to linger before they were discovered.

"Not without Thirteen," Saïx snapped, pulling away from him.

"If he's in there, he's a lost cause," Zexion protested. "We need to go!"

However, it was too late, as the doors to the temple burst open and a flood of people exited, heading straight for them. Zexion's eyes widened as did the man's who first spotted them. The crowd continued to gather around until there were only hushed whispers that were coming from all sides. They were surrounded.

"Shit…" Zexion wasn't usually one to curse, but at that particular moment, it seemed appropriate.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. What is going on?" At that point, the priest pushed his way through the crowd. He paused and stared at the two Nobodies in wonder. For a moment, Zexion thought he was paralyzed, but then a wide grin spread across his face. "Oh, goodness! The gods are among us!" He then collapsed to the ground, groveling before them. Saïx glanced over at Zexion, smirking.

"See?" he said. "Nothing to worry about."

"This is what I _was_ worried about," Zexion hissed.

"Oh, please, wondrous gods," the priest said, lifting his face off the ground. "Allow us to bring you into our temple. We shall give you what you desire from us!"

"Very well," Saïx said, waving a hand, seeming quite interested in this praise. Zexion, however, was still very worried. Not because of the god treatment, but what was to come after it.

----------------------------------

It was a little past noon when Larxene finally decided to emerge from her room. Luckily it hadn't been later, as tempers were wearing thin. Axel seemed perfectly content with setting Marluxia's hair on fire; Luxord had moved to another table and was currently winning at a game of poker. Naminé had actually taken refuge behind a fake plant in the corner and was drawing numerous pictures of Axel and Marluxia holding hands and being friendly. Larxene smirked and placed a hand on Axel's shoulder as he approached and shoved him down into a chair.

"Nice to see you boys get along so well," she mused, sitting down in what was previously Luxord's chair.

"Nice to see you've decided to join us," Marluxia said, ignoring her comment, sitting down again and picking up a hairbrush. Though he didn't care to say it, he was grateful that Larxene showed up _before_ his hair was destroyed.

"It's about time," Axel snapped, crossing his arms. Naminé rejoined them at that point, returning to her seat at Marluxia's side.

"So what's the plan for today?" Larxene asked, choosing to ignore Axel for the moment.

"I'm not entirely sure," Marluxia admitted, running a hand through his once again immaculate hair. "What else can we do besides walk around and look?"

"I thought you were so positive that we were going to find someone today," Axel pointed out. "What happened to that optimism?" Once again, Axel's statement went ignored.

"Then maybe we should split up," Larxene suggested. Marluxia cocked an eyebrow.

"I suppose that's the best plan we've got," he admitted. "We'll cover more ground that way and heighten our chances of finding someone."

"Exactly," Larxene nodded. "We'll have the advantage if we get going right now." She glanced over at Luxord. "Hey! Gambler of Fate! Stop cheating and get over here!"

"Cheating! I beg your pardon!" he snapped, gathering his winnings from the disgruntled man and rejoining them anyway.

"Right," Larxene said, rolling her eyes. "I'll take the 'lucky' one and Mr. Grumpy Face here." Both Luxord and Axel shot her a glare, but Marluxia spoke before another fight could break out.

"Then Naminé and I will head toward the shrine," he said with a short nod.

"Sounds good," Larxene said, tilting her chair back. "When do you want to meet back here?"

"We'll say three days," Marluxia said after a moment of silence. "That will give us time to look carefully and get back here. We can meet at the cottage if anyone gets back early."

"Sounds good to me," Larxene let her chair fall to the ground with a 'thud.' "Let's move out you two!"

"Who made you captain of this operation?" Luxord demanded.

"What if we don't want to go with you?" Axel added.

"Then you two can stay here and try to find your allies in a land that you know absolutely nothing about." She smiled sweetly and turned to leave. It didn't take long for the two males to grumble as they stood to follow after her. Marluxia chuckled and watched them go before glancing over at Naminé.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked. Naminé looked up at him and nodded her head slowly, not speaking. "Excellent. Let's get going then. We have quite a bit of ground to cover." She nodded once again and allowed him to steer her out of the room.

-------------------------------

Lexaeus was going to go insane, plain and simple. He had come to the shrine to find out what was going on in the world. What he had discovered was that the goddesses were hussies, causing problems and kidnapping humans for their own amusement. There were several of them at the moment, attempting to shove grapes down his throat. While he appreciated that they didn't want him to starve, every single one of their hands touching every inch of his body was a bit much.

"Ladies, please!" he demanded. "I've had just about enough! I thank you for your kindness, but I implore you, return me to the surface!"

"Why should we?" one asked. "When you… amuse us so?"

"While I am thrilled to have been your entertainment for this evening," he told them. "I really must be going." There was a unanimous giggle, signaling the fact that he was only succeeding in amusing them further. He groaned, growing more anxious by the second.

"If you are not going to cooperate, you will be locked in your cell until you do!" another one told him. Then, they all seemed to turn on him at her words. They grabbed him by the arms and legs, pulling him toward the cell she spoke of. He could easily draw his tomahawk, but it came down to the fat that they had yet to attempt to do him bodily harm. Secondly, though he scarcely believed in such a thing, it would result in a cruel fate to invoke the wrath of a goddess, no matter how terribly obnoxious they were. There had to be a better way to escape. Though, at the moment, the situation looked grim.

-------------------------------------

Vexen, in attempting to figure out the secret to this strange world, had developed a new tactic. He had abandoned the vials of blood and had taken to lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. He'd even drawn Xaldin's blood while he was in animal form, but it was no different from a regular raccoon's blood.

The door opened, but Vexen paid it no mind until Xigbar was standing directly at his side.

"You done brooding yet?" Xigbar demanded, dragging a chair over and plopping down on it.

"Not nearly," Vexen admitted. "I just… don't understand." It pained him to admit such a thing, but there was nothing else he could do.

"Yeah, that makes all of us," Xigbar rolled his eyes. "This is pretty lame. It's not every day you learn you can turn into an animal… at least you can control it."

"I suppose," Vexen muttered, sitting up to regard the other Nobody. "It just doesn't add up."

"Well, duh." Xigbar rolled his eyes. There was a knock on the doorframe as Xigbar spoke. Without waiting to be invited, Xaldin entered the room and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Would you gentlemen mind if I joined your little party?" he asked. Vexen waved a dismissive hand.

"Knock yourself out," Xigbar told him, grinning. Vexen sighed and shook his head, still greatly confused.

"This is maddening," he groaned. "It doesn't particularly help when the Superior feels the need to downplay my research."

"I think it's become clear that he hasn't the slightest clue as to what he's talking about," Xaldin told him, reassuringly.

"Well, yeah," Xigbar agreed. "He's got a few screws loose, that's for sure. His mind's set on one thing all the time."

"He's such an idealist," Vexen stated, frowning over at Xigbar. "It should have been clear to us long ago that ideas are all that he has."

"So… what're we going to do about it?" Xigbar asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "He won't be happy if we just up and leave."

"We can't follow a clueless leader," Xaldin stated. "But if we betray him, we're just like Number Eight."

"What else can we do then?" Vexen asked. "We can't possibly reason with him."

"Yeah, that'd be a trick," Xigbar rolled his eyes. "'Hey, Xemnas, buddy! You've been great, but now we think you suck. Later, dude!' As if!"

"I think the best thing we can do for now is simply appease him," Xaldin answered. "We'll work in secret and conduct research that should lead us to a better conclusion. We'll just have to do what seems right."

"So we're to act on impulse?" Vexen demanded.

"What else can we do?" Xaldin asked. Vexen fell silent and simply nodded. Xigbar grinned.

"All right!" he exclaimed. "This is _my_ kind of plan!"

END CHAPTER SIX

_-------------------------------------_

_Minnet_ – I'm so glad I've kept you hooked thus far, even with small things like that. I, once again, apologize for crushing the otter!Demyx idea, but it's just not very convenient for him.

_Ranma Higurashi_ – I'm glad you find it interesting! I'll update as soon as I possibly can!

_Rios Masquerade_ – School really is a downer. I'm glad I can brighten up your day! You're very welcome. I make it a point not to delete fics, just so I know what I've done before, even if I don't like them a few years from now.

_AnimeDutchess_ – Not clueless. Perhaps a one-track mind would be a better explanation for him. xD

_Shido_ – Yeah, I realized after you told me that it doesn't show up on my computer either. Weird, but yes, it's fixed now! I try to give them all equal time and development. They're all important in their own way.

_EliasDaemonwing_ – Zexion's role is very important, though everybody's role is important. They all have specific things to do that helps keep the plot moving.

_The White Raven013_ – Thank you very much. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

_Lady KeyBlade_ – I suppose you could say that. Small bits and pieces. I prefer to write them as if they have blood. I could go into a long explanation of how I think the biological makeup of Nobodies is, but that would take up a lot of time.

_MajinBakaHentai_ – I'm glad I've caught your attention. I personally see Naminé to have never really trusted Axel to begin with. She knew of his betrayal and doesn't want to get caught in something like that again, so she prefers not to socialize with him. They'll eventually have to get along, if only for a few moments, but it certainly won't be easy for them to accept that.

_Moonshine's Guide_ – Vexen's animal? I thought for sure I put that in there! Though, now that I look at it, I realize I didn't. I meant to, though. Vexen's animal is a turtle.

_Odi8200_ – Thank you very much. I apologize for the great amount of time between updates. I have a very busy schedule this year, but I'll try to get the chapters out as soon as I can.

_Pillowbot_ – I suppose I do. I feel repetitive writing it out a lot. I'll see if I can find other ways to convey that. Thanks for that!

_Xemagirl_ – Wow. I'm flattered. Thank you so much. I'm glad I had that effect on you. A lot of thought went into the fic, so I'm very happy that you got something out of that as well.


	7. Chapter 7: A Game of Cat and Mouse

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

**A/N**: Wow. It's been a while! I'm sorry to everybody who's been checking back and waiting patiently for me to update. I've written more chapters, but I haven't had time to sit down at the computer and type them out. This is the first chance I got. Hope you all enjoy!

-----------------------------------------

**Chapter 7: A Game of Cat and Mouse**

The sun was beginning to sink gracefully below the horizon. A small, domesticated house cat had wandered into the field beyond the town in search of more food than its owner had set out for it. The animal was quite nervous. It had never ventured so far from the village before. It wanted to catch a mouse for its pet humans, though, so it ventured on. Surely they would appreciate the gift.

It spotted a tiny field mouse, not very far from where it had stopped to scratch behind its ear. It lowered itself into the tall grass, readying himself for a short chase. It was set to pounce when it heard something else stalking through the grass. The mouse heard it too and scrambled away quickly before diving into its burrow. The cat cursed its rotten luck and bounded away toward the village. Maybe next time.

Marluxia escorted Naminé toward the village. The two of them had walked in silence since that morning, both lost in their own thoughts. Naminé had stolen small glances in his direction out of curiosity, but he either didn't notice or didn't particularly care. Either that or he simply didn't say anything about it. He was a complete mystery to Naminé.

When they reached the town, he took her by the arm and quickly led her to the inn. Before she knew it, he had led her into her own room and she was in bed, just as the sun was spreading its final rays through the window. He followed her gaze toward the glass pane and stood to leave her be. She frowned and reached out to grab onto his shirt sleeve. He paused, tilting his head back to regard her with utmost curiosity.

"Don't go," she told him. The surprise was apparent in the expression on his face, so she went on to explain. "I'm… afraid. I don't know this place very well. Don't leave me alone here." It was then that she suddenly realized the irony and hypocrisy in her words. In all her time at Castle Oblivion with him, she had spent every minute begging him to leave her be. He was acting so different now; it was as if he were a totally different person. Somehow… kinder after his death.

"I see…" he said after a moment. "Then I'll stay for now." She smiled as he sat down next to her. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling her face against his chest. There was a warm, fuzzy sensation and she wasn't quite sure where it came from. She tilted her head up to study his face, trying to learn more about him. He watched her for a moment before glancing up at the window. A small grin spread over his features as he glanced down at her once again. He then dipped his head slightly to press his lips to hers in a gently kiss. Her eyes widened for a moment, but then she closed her eyes and tightened her hold around his waist, no longer wishing to let go. The kiss was different from the times he had kissed her before in Castle Oblivion. His hands in her hair were gentle, not demanding, as they used to be so many times before. At any other time, she would have been afraid of him, only returning his kiss because of her fear. Right now, however, he made her feel safe.

Reality, however, returned to her as he pulled away. This was Marluxia. He was the man—if he could even be called that—who had made her life a living hell. Who had enslaved her and caused her so much pain and suffering. She backed away from him and noticed the sun sink below the horizon. She transformed then and suddenly the room and everything in it was so much larger. He stood and offered her a small smile.

"Goodnight, my lovely flower." He reached out to pet her tiny head. He then turned from the tiny mouse and left her to sleep.

---------------------------------------

The cat was sitting by a tree, scowling off into the distance. It had received absolutely no food that day. Because of that, his companion was beginning to look like a tasty feast. He held off, though. He wasn't used to cannibalism anyway. Surely his hunting instinct would kick in and would certainly come in handy.

"I'm hungry," the rabbit whined, glancing over at the cat. The cat rolled his eyes.

"Stop complaining," he commanded. "I'll go hunt for food."

"But you don't know how to hunt," the rabbit pointed out, lifting his head from his paw to regard the cat with skepticism.

"It's not like you could do any better," the cat snapped. "I'll figure it out."

"But I'm an herbivore…" The cat hissed, greatly annoyed.

"Are you hungry or not?"

"Yes…" the rabbit said softly, lowering his head.

"Beggars can't be choosers." The cat turned his tail to leave.

"Roxas…"

"What, Demyx?" The cat turned back to glare at his companion.

"…good luck!" Roxas turned again and bounded away to hunt for something. Anything. Demyx watched the cat until he was out of sight. He slumped against a tree to relax, sighing softly. And people thought animals had it easy. Demyx was quite ready to just sit there and wait for Roxas, but he heard voices quite close by, causing his ears to perk up in alarm.

"Next time it would do you well to listen to my advice." That had to be Zexion.

"That was just an unfortunate situation," another voice growled. It was not human, Demyx could tell that much. His eyes widened as realization dawned. Zexion was talking to a wolf!

"Yes, unfortunate that you're so stubborn," Zexion retorted. "We were only just able to escape due to your transformation. We were lucky they only feast at night."

"Exactly. So it was because of me that we escaped."

"However unintentional it may have been…" Zexion muttered. Demyx was confused about why Roxas wanted to keep away from him. Zexion was nice. But that wolf… that worried Demyx.

"Be quiet," the wolf snapped, sniffing the air.

"I've already resolved never to follow your instructions again. I'm not willing to die because of your stupid mistakes," Zexion said. His words were lost, however, as a predatory smirk appeared on Saïx's features. He let out a howl and charged. Zexion was greatly confused for a moment until he spotted the rabbit. He let out a string of uncharacteristically colorful curses and took off after them. He picked up a branch that had fallen from the tree. Saïx caught up with the rabbit and snatched it in his powerful jaws, none too gently.

"Seven! Number Seven! Saïx, dammit!" Zexion scolded and brought the branch around to hit the wolf on the nose. Saïx yelped and growled, dropping the rabbit to the ground. He continued to growl angrily as Zexion stooped down to pick up the fallen rabbit. He used Saïx's shirt to wrap it up and sighed. He turned to the wolf and frowned. "Let's go. The Superior is waiting." Saïx growled again, but made no move to attack again. Zexion turned and hurried back toward the hideout. They didn't have much time and he had a feeling that this was no ordinary rabbit.

Not long after they had left, the cat returned to the grisly scene. He wasn't at all prepared for the sight that greeted him. There was blood everywhere and Demyx was nowhere to be found. He hissed and moved to hide under a bush. He wasn't going to take any chances if the predator was still there. He would wait until morning and then go to town for help. Hopefully Demyx had better survival skills than Roxas thought he did.

-----------------------------------------

Everything was extremely blurry at first. It was difficult to make out exactly what anything was. There were two people leaning over him, discussing something that sounded really serious. Demyx blinked, attempting to focus. As his eyes adjusted he realized who was standing over him and he started to panic. Vexen glanced down at him, an almost concerned look on his face.

"Oh, good," he said, drawing Zexion's attention to him as well. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

Demyx attempted to sit up slowly, but Zexion placed a hand gently on his chest and pushed him back down, looking as though he would scold him if he tried it again. Demyx watched Vexen study a red something in a vial for a moment. He was feeling greatly on-edge, especially with Zexion there.

"Well," Vexen finally said, after examining him. "You're lucky. That's for sure."

"Lucky?" Demyx inquired, glancing between the two of them. All he could remember was running away in fear. Vexen sighed and pointed down at his chest. Demyx frowned and sat up, wincing slightly as he did so. He finally realized what Vexen had meant. His chest and stomach were now bandaged tightly. "I… what happened to me?"

"You were attacked," Zexion explained simply, looking away from him. "You're lucky I was nearby, otherwise you wouldn't have made it." Demyx nodded, falling silent, trying to think about the past night's events. Vexen glanced between the two of them and took a step back, obviously sensing the tension between them.

"I'm going to inform the Superior of your condition," he told Demyx. He then nodded to Zexion and left the room.

There was a complete and awkward silence for a while. Demyx shot glances toward the other Nobody, but his eyes did not linger for long. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure exactly what he could say. From what he remembered, the original six were always so stuffy about how their inferiors addressed them. As Zexion opened his mouth to break the silence, Demyx managed to cut him off.

"I'm sorry for…"

"Don't worry about it," Zexion told him before he could finish. "It really doesn't matter."

"Yeah, but, Zexion… I mean, um… Number Six!" Demyx stumbled for his words before sighing and lying back down on the bed. "Okay… never mind. It doesn't really matter, right?" Zexion nodded his head. There were a few more moments of a rather tense silence before Zexion spoke again.

"What the hell is a kid like you doing in an Organization like this?" Zexion asked, shaking his head. Demyx glanced up at Zexion to see the other Nobody studying him. He frowned a little bit at his superior.

"Hey, I'm just as important as you are! I do my missions! I mean, I don't always remember what to say and they don't always get done well, but I can do it!" Demyx protested.

"I'm not talking about your competence or ability to complete a mission," Zexion informed him, sitting down on the metal table beside him.

"Oh…" Demyx looked down, his face flushing slightly.

"I'm talking about… just…" he frowned and sighed. "I'm talking just about you," he managed to finish, going on as if Demyx hadn't spoken.

"Wait…" Demyx told him. "You're not trying to trick me again, are you?" He could have sworn that Zexion almost smiled, but in a second, whatever faint trace of a grin was gone.

"No," Zexion told him, leaning back and resting his hands on the bed behind him. "I'm not trying to trick you anymore." Demyx hesitated and sighed, finally deciding that if Zexion really wanted to trick him, there was no point as he was already in his house and that he really couldn't go anywhere anyway.

"All right," Demyx nodded his head. He fell silent once more. He never really had a conversation with Zexion before, so he had no idea what to say.

"So… a rabbit, hm?" Zexion glanced over at him, lifting an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Demyx grinned a little bit, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm a rabbit. Wish I could be something…"

"Alertness, safety… overcoming your fears," Zexion said, cutting him off. "There's nothing wrong with being a rabbit." Demyx paused for a second and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" he said. "It's just all the fuzz. It gets in the way."

"I suppose it would," Zexion agreed.

"I can hide, though," Demyx told him, now feeling a bit more comfortable in the presence of the older Nobody. "I've been able to run away from a lot of predators and people and sometimes even goddesses don't see me!"

"What do you mean by that?" Zexion asked, fixing him with a rather confused look.

"Well, I saw Lex—er, Number Five at this rock thing and some goddess pulled him in. I mean… I figured she was a goddess, since she could drag him like that… where are you going?" Zexion had stood up and was heading toward the door, cutting off Demyx's conversation.

"I have to go. He may need help." Zexion then rushed out of the room, toward the front door and out.

Demyx sat on his bed for a few moments, glancing around and kicking his feet off the side. When he was sure that no one was coming, he got up slowly and left as well. He greatly preferred to be around Roxas than Vexen or the Superior. That was for sure.

----------------------------------------

Roxas had begun his search of the village the very second the sun broke the horizon and he had gotten his clothes back on. So far, he had no luck in finding Demyx, alive or his corpse, but Roxas was not willing to give up so easily. It was partially his fault anyway for leaving him alone when he knew full well that he was defenseless as a rabbit. He sat down at the bar in the inn and sighed. It seemed hopeless. He could be anywhere by now. He might not even be in one piece.

The inn wasn't busy at all, which Roxas was quite grateful for. There was hardly anybody there, though he assumed it was only natural that most people didn't hang out in bars in the early morning. He glanced around, however, to see if somebody looked as though they could help him. He heard footsteps from the stairs nearby. Roxas stood and walked over, deciding to as whoever it was for help as soon as they emerged. Roxas then found himself face to face with the last person he ever thought he'd see again: Naminé.

"Oh, hello Roxas," she smiled at him as his shock wore off. She didn't seem surprised in the slightest, which struck him as odd.

"Naminé… he said. "Good! I need your help!" He grasped her hands and tried to pull her toward the door.

"My help? Wait, Roxas," she frowned and squeezed his hands. "What do you need help with?"

"Demyx is missing," he told her. "Help me find him. It's my fault if he dies or gets kidnapped."

"We have to wait for someone…" she told him, quite surprised that he actually seemed to care. Roxas frowned and looked back at her.

"Naminé, he could die!" he practically yelled, causing several people to glance back at them. He tried to say it gently, but it just wasn't in his nature. "Who are we waiting for that's so important?"

She knew he would be angry. Even Zexion would have rolled his eyes at her for this and he didn't even care. She bit her lip and glanced toward the stairs, hoping he would appear. That would be explanation enough, she figured. However, he did not come. She sighed and looked back down at Roxas, who was waiting none too patiently for her explanation. She looked down at her feet and opened her mouth to explain, but another voice spoke for her.

"Surely you aren't thinking of leaving without me." Naminé glanced up and saw Marluxia with his hand on Roxas' shoulder. Roxas' eyes widened and he jumped away from him, drawing his Keyblade and readying himself for a fight. Several patrons screamed and one woman grabbed her child and ran out the door.

"You!" Roxas snapped, glaring at Marluxia and completely ignoring the panic around him.

"Yes, me," Marluxia told him, calmly. "Are you planning to kill me before or after asking for an explanation?"

"Roxas, wait!" Naminé told him, taking hold of his elbow gently, trying to hold him back before he did anything rash.

"Why should I? He betrayed us!" he snapped.

"Roxas…" Naminé said kindly. "You… kind of did too…"

"That was different!" he snapped at her, glaring.

"How so?" Marluxia inquired. "A traitor is a traitor, apparently, as you don't seem to like listening to excuses."

"Shut up!" Roxas yelled at him.

"Roxas, wait, please," Naminé told him again. "We'll both help you look for Demyx. We've been looking for him too. We need to work together so that the others don't have the advantage." Roxas hesitated and eyed Marluxia with disdain before finally putting his Keyblade away.

"Fine…" he said, sighing. "But I _don't_ trust him." The pandemonium seemed to calm down as Roxas put his weapon away, but the patrons were still wary. Marluxia seemed to notice this and nodded his head.

"Of course," he smiled. "We've lingered long enough. We should return to Axel and the others before we look for Demyx, especially if he is where I think he is at the moment."

"Axel?" Roxas asked, his brows creasing together in a frown. They had quite a bit that they needed to talk about. Marluxia nodded and turned, smirking, before he led the way out of the inn, finally relieving all people inside.

END CHAPTER 7

-----------------------------------------

Thank you all so much! Have wonderful holiday season!

_Rios Masquerade_ – Yes, I do believe it was Saturday when I updated last. Thank you for being such a faithful reader.

_Odi8200_ – Yes! And now I updated again (after a really long time, I know x.x)

_The White Raven013_ – Yeah. They all decided that Xemnas got them all killed the first time. Why bother again? Saïx and Zexion are just so different; I can't imagine them respecting each other for anything. Poor Lexaeus… how I torture him so. More about the girls are revealed later too.

_Moonshine's Guide_ – What I've been trying to do with this fic is keep it sketchy on who is good and who is evil. The topic in real life is hard to tell, so I decided to make it that way in the fic. I did say there was a fine line, and there is, it's just hard to tell which is which.

_Ranma Higurashi_ – It has been updated! I'll try to get the next one out sooner!

_Lady KeyBlade_ – I have my reasoning for choosing a turtle for Vexen. I'll most likely explain it in later chapters. Lexaeus doesn't turn into a bear because, one, he's in a cave. Even if he did manage to wipe out all the women, he wouldn't be able to get out because it's underground and he doesn't know how he got there in the first place. Two, they haven't hurt him and he's not planning to kill them if they aren't fighting him.

_yuki hibiki_ – Nothing wrong with that. Xigbar is totally awesome. Thanks for the reviews. I update as fast as I can, but I've been really busy lately.

_EliasDaemonwing_ – Poor Lexaeus is the source of amusement for so many people. xD I feel bad for him. -pets him-

_Xemagirl_ – I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'd love to see your fic about the two of them.

_Firewolf_ – Thank you for reading! I'm really glad that you like it so far!

Thank you all very much! I hope to get the next chapter out a bit sooner!


	8. Chapter 8: Take Me Away

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. Yaoi and Het are both included.

**A/N**: Oh dear, I'm so sorry, you guys! Real life fails. No, seriously. I haven't even had time to write this, let alone post it. But here I am again. It'll be finished at some point. My outlines are done; I just have to actually write them in some coherent fashion, because right now it's like reading Greek. This chapter itself has been written for a really long time, I just haven't had enough time online to actually type it up. Plus there's that laziness that I've got going. Yeah. Need to kick that habit. Okay. Go read! ;;;

-----------------------------------------

Chapter 8: Take Me Away

The wolves were discontent. They never before hid in their dens since the night before. Something was clearly amiss. The other animals, because of the behavior of the wolves, were also discontent. Angry wolves meant that somebody was going to get hurt. They just had to wonder when the storm would come and hope that they weren't caught in the middle of it.

"Where the hell are they?" Saïx demanded, clutching Vexen by the front of his shirt, glaring daggers at him.

"Do you honestly expect _me_ to know?" Vexen asked, remaining calm. "I know just as much as you do. I went to inform the Superior of Nine's condition. When I returned, they were both gone." Saïx growled, but Vexen went on, not intimidated. He was used to this by now. "If anything, it's your fault. If you hadn't attacked him, he would have been more willing to stay with us and this wouldn't have happened."

"How dare you blame me for this!" Saïx snapped, clutching his shirt tighter.

"Chill out," Xigbar told him as he entered the room. "The kid's gone and there's nothing we can do about it. Let's not kill each other for something the kid did, all right?" Saïx reluctantly released Vexen and turned to face Xigbar.

"We have to do something," he said, still obviously angry.

"Do we now?" Vexen demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "And what do you suggest?"

"Go out there and find him!" Saïx said. "And we'll find Six and give what's coming to him." His lips curled up into a cruel smirk. Xigbar and Vexen exchanged glances and sighed.

"Just chill," Xigbar repeated. "We don't know if he betrayed us. We don't even know if the _kid_ betrayed us."

"Exactly," Xaldin agreed. "Why don't we wait to make further assumptions until we acquire more evidence on the matter? For all we know, Nine is cooperating perfectly. He and Six could easily be looking for Five."

"So that they can revolt against the Superior?" Saïx demanded, glaring. "Five could just as easily be in cahoots with them." Vexen was very surprised to see Xaldin roll his eyes.

"Yes, Seven, we believe you," he said, his tone rather condescending. "Go tell the Superior and we'll discuss what sort of action to take." Saïx scowled at him, but turned to storm out of the room. Xigbar cocked an eyebrow and glanced over at Xaldin.

"Didn't know you had it in you," Xigbar commented, seeming rather impressed. "It's nice to see I'm not the only one tired of him."

"This is all well and good," Vexen said, reaching up to massage his temple. "But now he's going to whine to the Superior. If that is so, not only will Six, Five and Nine be in danger, but we might be as well."

"We can deal with Xemnas here. I'm not worried about that," Xaldin said, waving Vexen's comment off. "Nine can fend for himself. Six and Five are the ones who matter now. We need to decide what to do."

"What is there _to_ do?" Xigbar inquired, crossing his arms over his chest. "We just have to keep him off their heels until they get back." Vexen sighed and shook his head.

"Easier said than done…" he said. "What in all hell could have gotten into them?"

"Five, Six or Seven?" Xaldin asked, resting his head on his palm.

"All of them," Vexen said, rolling his eyes.

"Eh… I dunno guys," Xigbar said. "I think Seven's kinda bitter, if you ask me. I mean, he had more faith in Kingdom Hearts than even the Superior did. It's kinda… pathetic, if you know what I mean." The other two glanced at him, frowning.

"You know," Vexen said, letting a small smile cross his lips. "That's the best hypothesis I've heard since we've been here."

---------------------------------------------------

Demyx wasn't entirely sure where he was running to, he just knew that he wanted to get away from everything. Away from the pressure, away from the criticism and especially Vexen's incessant poking and prodding. It was… bothersome, at the very least.

He finally came to a stop under the shade of a tree. He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, attempting to get himself to breath normally again. He glanced behind him, relieved to see that he wasn't being followed. With that in mind, he fell backwards onto the grass and closed his eyes, finally relaxing. Fatigue was finally kicking in. He wasn't sure exactly how long or how far he had run. It was a long time was all he really knew.

He didn't have very long to rest his weary legs, for it wasn't long before he felt someone standing over him. He didn't react right away, but concentrating on summoning his sitar and waiting for an opportune moment. It could easily be Saïx or Vexen, and Demyx was determined not to go back. He jumped up, holding his sitar out defensively, ready for a fight. Once he saw who it was, he lowered his weapon and frowned.

"A-ah! I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, his sitar disappearing from his hand.

"Sheesh… I know we were never best friends or anything, but really… warn me before you try to kill me next time," Axel held up his hands in defense, having taken quite a few steps back after Demyx drew his weapon.

"I'm sorry!" he said again. "I… I thought you were…"

"Yeah, yeah," Axel waved a hand, dismissing his apology. "I get that. We've been looking for you. You're an elusive little thing, aren't you?"

"We?" Demyx asked, glancing around for a second party.

"Yeah. We," Axel repeated. Demyx gave him a look, so the redhead sighed and went on. "Me, Luxord, Larxene…"

"Oh, okay…" Demyx sighed in relief. Axel cocked his head to the side and smirked.

"Ah, I get it now." He grinned. Larxene and Luxord chose that moment to approach the two of them from behind Demyx. Larxene grinned and draped an arm around Demyx's shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Demyx!" she exclaimed, patting him none too gently on the chest with her other hand. "We've been looking everywhere for you. Where the _hell_ have you been?"

"I… um…"

"It doesn't matter," Luxord interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's here now, is he not? His story is irrelevant."

"Yeah, but why wasn't he here earlier?" Larxene demanded, giving Demyx's shoulder a less than gentle squeeze.

"I—I—Zexion kidnapped me!" Demyx blurted out, his eyes wide from the amount of pressure Larxene had placed on his shoulder and the fact that her nails were digging into the skin.

"Ah. I see," Larxene nodded her head. "So how did _you_ get out of there so unscathed?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, frowning over at her. He and Larxene glared at each other for a moment before he looked away and continued his story. "Zexion…" he frowned and batted her hand away from his shoulder. "Zexion let me go."

There were several moments of stunned silence. The other three stared at Demyx for quite some time, obviously making him very uncomfortable. To his relief, Luxord broke the silence.

"Beg pardon?" he asked. "I don't believe I quite heard you correctly. I thought I heard you say that _Zexion_ let you go." Demyx lifted his eyebrows and nodded slowly, confirming that he had, indeed, heard correctly.

"Zexion? Really?" Axel asked. Demyx nodded again, obviously getting impatient.

"Number Six?" Larxene inquired, finally causing Demyx to lose his patience.

"Yes!" he snapped, glancing between the three of them. "Zexion. Number Six. The last of the original six. Fights less than me. That Zexion."

"Oh, well, sorry," Axel rolled his eyes, not sounding sorry at all. He crossed his arms and leaned against the tree nearby. "It's just pretty damn hard to believe that Zexion was the one who let you go."

"Well, I guess he didn't exactly let me go," Demyx said, glancing at Larxene while keeping his distance. He didn't want to start a conflict. "He was sitting in the room with me—watching me, I guess—and he just kind of… ran out. So, since there was no one else there, I just left."

"So much for your daring escape," Axel said, rolling his eyes. Demyx glared at him, but said nothing more.

"That's odd…" Luxord mused. Demyx shrugged his shoulders, looking at the three of them apologetically.

"That doesn't matter. What's important is he got away from the little weasel and he's with us now," Axel said, clapping a hand on Demyx's shoulder. "As long as you're nowhere near the little bastard you're safe."

"Have you seen Thirteen?" Luxord asked suddenly. Axel glanced at Demyx, who frowned at the fact that all the attention was, once again, focused on him.

"I don't know where he is," Demyx admitted. "We were together for a little bit, but he was out getting food when I got captured, so he escaped."

"Ah, understandable," Luxord nodded. Axel sighed and let his hand drop from Demyx's shoulder.

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere by just standing here," Axel said, glancing at the other Nobodies. "Where the hell did Larxene go?"

"Right here," she answered, approaching them. "I got bored, so I went back to the village while you guys were yapping. Now that we've found this one, we should head back to the cabin."

"You know, he may have said something important," Luxord reminded her, clearly annoyed.

"Don't care," she told him. "You can tell me all about it on the way. You seem to like to flap your lips." Luxord glared, but Axel cut in before an argument could break out.

"But we don't know where Roxas is," he protested. However, Larxene placed her hands on his back and pushed him forward, away from the tree.

"Yeah, and that's why Marluxia and his puppet girl are out there. Now move or I'll drag you all the way back by your hair," she snapped. Axel groaned and pulled away from her, grabbing Demyx's arm and moving in the direction of the cabin.

---------------------------------------------

"I brought you something!" a woman called out in a sing-song voice. Lexaeus glanced toward the door, unable to contain the grimace that spread across his features.

"Honestly, I appreciate the gesture," he told her as she set the bowl down. "But I believe I've had enough grapes to last me a lifetime."

"Oh, are you sure? Do you not like grapes? I can get you another kind of fruit!" she said, almost panicked.

"No, grapes are fine," he told her. "But I haven't quite had enough time to digest the last twenty bowls of them."

"You sure are a strange one," she told him, frowning. "Most of the other gods take advantage of this kind of treatment. Especially when given grapes… maybe we've gone out of style… Is there better fruit we could give you?"

"I beg your pardon, madam?" Lexaeus said, frowning. "'Other gods'?"

"Yes, yes," she said, waving her hand. "The rest of you. Or have you been banished too?" She paused and tilted her head to study him. "Or are you the god of chastity? How unfair to look so handsome with such a task…"

"Ma'am?" Lexaeus attempted, frowning a bit deeper.

"Do you not find us attractive, maybe? Are we no longer appealing?" her eyes widened and she looked panicked once again. "Are we no longer _beautiful_!?"

"Ma'am… I beg your pardon…" Lexaeus tried again, putting his hand to his head in frustration.

"Is it because we brought you here against your will?" she demanded. "We just wanted to have a nice surprise prepared for you!"

"Ma'am!" Lexaeus shouted, massaging his temples. "I'm not a god." This took a few moments to sink in. She tiled her head to the side and blinked at him.

"…You're not?" she asked

"No. Far from it, in fact," he told her. "Quite far from it."

"I see… so, you're just a man then?" she asked, a small smirk spreading over her features. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose you could say that," he nodded. "Not much of one, but…"

"I see," she grinned, cutting him off and crawling up onto the bed so that she was positioned over him. She continued to speak as he attempted to scoot away, granted, he didn't have very far he could go. "Then you're susceptible to human desires."

Lexaeus would have answered, but his vision as starting to blur. That and his judgment. He felt her crawl on top of him and he could do nothing but reach for her. His mind was screaming not to let her get the better of him, but he had no control over his actions. Her lips were on his as she straddled his waist. Her hands explored his chest, causing him to give out an involuntary sound of approval. He had no power or desire to stop her now, which was rather uncharacteristic for him. He had given in to whatever power she used to manipulate him—mind and body.

But then came a voice that Lexaeus recognized. One that caused him to snap out of his daze and sit up.

"Number Five!" the voice called. "Five! _Lexaeus_!"

"Zexion," he said, frowning, pushing the girl off him and onto the floor. Her mouth dropped open and she stood, quickly, her pride obviously hurt.

"What!?" she demanded. "This is impossible! How did you break free of my spell! No man can resist me! How is this possible?"

"Because he is no ordinary man," a voice came. Lexaeus glanced back as the queen entered the room, wasting no time. He crossed the room to her, frowning deeply.

"Let me go," he told her. "If he's here for me, there must be something wrong."

"No!" the other girl screamed, stomping up to the two of them. "He was under my control!"

"I'll make you a deal," the queen said, ignoring the girl and smirking.

"What!?" the girl demanded, but she went ignored.

"Fine," Lexaeus agreed. "Name it and I'll do it."

"Unite all fourteen of this world's saviors at this shrine," she told him. "Succeed, and the world will owe you everything. Should you fail within the next year, we will take something from you that you cannot live without."

"All right," Lexaeus said without any hesitation. He couldn't think of anything that was so important to him—other than his tomahawk, that was, but she wouldn't get that.

"Very well," the queen said, gathering up a considerable amount of magic. "Well be waiting for you." He only caught a brief glimpse of a smirk before everything went dark, as it had been when he first entered the shrine.

He appeared on a beach. He was lying halfway in the water. He sat up quickly, coughing up sand that had found its way into his mouth. He glanced up toward the hill. He could no longer hear Zexion's voice, but he could see the smaller Nobody sitting near the shrine where he, himself had been pulled in. He stood, brushed off his clothes and walked up the hill.

"Number Six," he said. Zexion shot up and spun around.

"Lexaeus!" he exclaimed. Lexaeus was rather taken aback by number Six's sudden excitement. "I… um… it's good that you're okay. You had us worried."

"Why did you come looking for me?" he asked, ignoring Zexion's obvious fumble for words.

"We can get into that later," Zexion said quickly, waving it off. Then he smirked in a rather amused manner. "Though, before we go, you might want to put a shirt on." Lexaeus frowned and sighed. Damn goddesses.

END CHAPTER 8

-----------------------------------------

Thanks for reading you guys!

_Moonshine's Guide – _Yes, there most likely will be. I warn against it in the full summary before each chapter. It won't be explicit, as I'm attempting to keep my PG-13 rating here. ;;;

_Crazymonkey101 – _I was hoping to be at least slightly original. I'm glad I managed to accomplish that. Thank you.

_Blackkeyblade – _Yes, poor Demyx. Baby is so conflicted. He gets to have more fun later too!

_Odi8200 – _Demyx is a mystery indeed. The loyalties are rather shaky for almost all of them.

_The White Raven013 – _I always run out of adjectives. Mostly for life, so I know how you feel. xD I'm glad that you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying to complicate things quite a bit. I hope it worked!

_Lady Keyblade – _Nope. Naminé is a mousey ;;;

_Rio Hime – _Oh, yes. I remember the bot was being rather stupid when I posted this. I'm glad you found it anyway.

_EliasDaemonwing – _Yep. There are many divisions. I've been trying to make it more difficult to tell who is on whose side now. Nothing is certain.

_Xemagirl – _Hm. Some of those are rather interesting. I actually am curious about Roxas as a horse. xD And Xigbar as a peafowl. Very interesting. Thanks for reading.

_Mina the Forgotten Memory – _Thank you very much. I try to write like the wind, but I always catch it when it's not moving much. Real life tends to hinder me too. But it will be finished! …eventually.

_Firewolf_ – Naminé and Roxas may still be a go. You have to remember that they haven't even really talked yet, so it's too early to tell for them. I apologize for taking so long to update. I've had so many things happen. I'm back, though!

_My Chemical Romance Dude _– Thanks for the review. I apologize for being silent for so long. Graduating really took control of life, as it seemed I wouldn't be doing that for a moment. Then I just got lazy. Updates will be more frequent from now on. Hopefully.

_Lighthawke _– Thank you for the review. I'll attempt to get updates in as soon as I can!


	9. Chapter 9: Into the Fire

Façade

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. **Yaoi** and **Het** are both included.

**A/N**: Wow. It's been a long time, huh? I'm back, though. I had a huge period where I didn't write anything at all because school is really kicking my butt. I did most of my writing in class back in high school, but I can't do that. However, I have mapped out all the chapters and there will be a total of 30…ish. So… I have a long way to go. xD

As a general note: YES. There will be slash, even if it will technically only be implied. I hope you all can overlook it, since it will not be blindingly obvious, but the subtext will be there.

--

Chapter 9: Into the Fire

It was really a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, bees were moving from flower to flower, and several ex-members of Organization XIII were far too annoyed to appreciate nature in its finest form. Axel, in particular, was not too keen on having to trek across grass that looked like it hadn't been cut in ages. If ever. Things could be a lot worse, he realized, but that wasn't going to stop him from feeling mildly irritated at this whole situation. He decided not to voice this irritation, though. At least not for the moment. Larxene didn't seem to be in the best of moods, so Axel had decided to be on his best behavior. To balance out the lack of pleasant attitudes amongst the group.

The cabin was not far off, therefore making Axel's mood worse than before. Shabby little piece of shit, it was. He didn't quite understand why they couldn't ransack an inn and stay there for a night, but he supposed that would turn out bad if they got kicked out of town. Still, they could at least live somewhere… better.

"Home sweet home," Axel said in monotone.

"Shut the hell up," Larxene snapped, as Axel had predicted she would. "If you want to find a better place to stay for free, be my guest." Axel fell silent then, also predicting that.

"I like it…" Demyx told her, attempting to be helpful. By the look on Larxene's face, he'd obvious failed. Succeeding, instead, to only annoy her.

"Nobody asked you," Luxord told him, voicing what was likely on Larxene's mind.

"Be quiet or we'll turn right back around and sleep in a fucking cave!" Larxene snapped, glaring at all three of them. The group became silent immediately, causing Larxene to look satisfied. "Good boys. Now let's go."

Axel usually would have complained, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice a comfortable place to sleep. In addition to that, Larxene's mood didn't seem to be taking any prisoners. Axel wasn't going to take any chances. He was the first to reach the door, so he pulled it open and entered, not pausing to hold it open for the others. They followed in behind him soon enough, so he flopped down on the couch, sending dust flying everywhere. Demyx made a face, but said nothing. He only lifted a hand to bat a moth away from his head. Once the creature had left him alone, he scanned the room, slowly taking everything in. Axel rolled his eyes before closing them to possibly catch some sleep.

However, just as he was drifting off there was a bright flash of light, causing his eyes to snap open again. Axel sat up, ready to fight, but a woman stood in front of him, dressed rather extravagantly. She wore a long white dress and a cape that looked as though it had been dipped in blood at her feet. Her long hair almost matched her dress, but the most unusual thing about her was her eyes. They were staring blankly past Axel, which wasn't all that odd, but he was struck by how light they were. He could barely recognize that they were blue at all, as they almost matched her dress as well.

Her arrival seemed to have alerted the others as well, for they ran in and Demyx had shrunk back to a corner, watching the woman carefully. Larxene had her kunai out, obviously ready to fight the newcomer. She tilted her head as she spotted the woman though, lowering her weapons only slightly.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Do not be alarmed," the woman said calmly. Axel was almost certain that he'd heard her voice before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I come with information on your future and the future of this world."

"Beg pardon?" Axel glanced at Luxord who had spoken. He looked just as confused as Axel was. "Ma'am, would you care to introduce yourself?"

"Oh, yes," she nodded her head, seeming apologetic. "Forgive my rudeness. I am the guardian of this world. I am a seer, charged with keeping balance so that we can continue to exist. I can see things that are impossible for others."

"But you're blind!" Demyx blurted out, then shrank back as all eyes turn to him. "I… um… aren't you?"

"I willingly gave up physical sight in exchange for my mind's eye," she explained, rather patiently in Axel's opinion. Perhaps she hadn't attacked him because she couldn't see him. Then those eyes turned to him and his eyes widened, realizing she could possibly be reading his mind. "That is not what is important now," she continued. "I am here to guide you all on your quest. You all will be tested very soon."

"I… what? Quest?" Larxene demanded. "Listen lady—"

"You will be tested very soon," she said, ignoring Larxene's outburst. "The fate of this world depends on this."

"The… fate of the world?" Luxord asked incredulously. "You want _us_ to save the world?"

"What kind of test?" Demyx asked, ignoring everyone else. "I don't test well…"

But she was gone in a flash of bright light, not bothering to answer Demyx's question. Axel frowned deeply and looked between Luxord and Larxene, knowing that neither of them really understood this whole thing either.

"Flashy exit," he commented. "I prefer slinking back into the darkness, myself, but that wasn't bad."

"Oh, shut up," Larxene said, crossing her arms and sitting down on the floor. "What the hell was she babbling on about some sort of test?"

"She wants us to save the world," Demyx told them, as if it was supposed to be obvious.

"Obviously," Luxord sighed, clearly annoyed with Demyx's stupid remarks. "She didn't tell us how we're supposed to do that, what this test is going to be or why we were chosen for this bloody job."

"Reminds me of our _dear_ Superior," Larxene commented. "How do we know we can trust this woman?"

"Well, I think just like the Superior," Axel told them, frowning. "We don't."

* * *

Xemnas himself was obviously quite put out, that much Xaldin could tell. He had that same look in his eye when he had heard that Marluxia and Larxene had betrayed the Organization. Then, the same with Roxas and, finally Axel. Though, he undoubtedly thought that Zexion and Lexaeus would be the last to ever turn from him. Xaldin didn't quite believe that they had really turned traitor, but the fact remained that Xemnas did.

"This treachery will be punished, Superior," Saïx assured him, kneeling beside his chair. Xaldin ignored the urge to roll his eyes at how ridiculous he looked. "Mark my words."

"Yeah… they're marked," Xigbar muttered, clearly unable to show the restraint that Xaldin had.

"Superior," Xaldin cut in as Saïx's eyes shot to Xigbar, ready to start another argument. "Could it be at all possible that numbers Five and Six went out to find Thirteen? I know that Six was quite unappreciative of Seven's behavior when they captured Nine. Perhaps he went to find Five, as they seem to work quite well together. I'm confident that they would be able to find Thirteen and bring him in more effectively."

"They should have informed me, if that truly is the case," Xemnas said.

"Maybe they didn't want you sending the psychopath with them again," Xigbar said. Saïx glared at him. "No offense."

"That may be the case," Xemnas said again, frowning. "But for the moment, until they return with their story, they will be counted as traitors." He stood from where he was sitting and left the room. Saïx stood quickly and followed him, much like an obedient puppy. Vexen watched them leave, saying nothing as he had the entire time. It was useless to do so, in his opinion. Xemnas refused to listen to any theories but his own.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Xaldin asked, frowning slightly at Vexen.

"Because it obviously doesn't do any good to do so," Vexen explained, standing up and beginning to pace. "All we can really do is hope that they return soon. Very soon." Xaldin sighed and nodded his head in agreement.

"This is ridiculous," he commented. "When did he become so unreasonable?"

"Probably when he was betrayed and the Keyblade kid started smashing things up," Xigbar suggested. "I know I wouldn't have been all sunshine and daisies if a bunch of my subjects decided to betray the cause."

"Subjects, hm?" Vexen lifted an eyebrow. "I suppose that's all we are anyhow. We've followed him blindly thus far… perhaps it's time for reform."

"Are you implying that it was right of them to turn their backs on our cause?" Xaldin asked.

"Whoa, now," Xigbar cut in. "We sure that's what they were doing?" Both Xaldin and Vexen turned their eyes toward him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" Xaldin asked, his brows creasing into a frown.

"I mean that they may just not like our methods," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "They might've wanted to do things their way. Ol' Xemnas just told us they were traitors, so we believed him. I don't think we ever stopped and asked them what exactly they were doing. I think they wanted to do things their way, Superior wouldn't let them, so they split."

"I see…" Xaldin said, becoming silent soon after. He leaned against the wall to mull over Xigbar's words for a moment. "I never thought I'd be in the position to question my loyalty. I never thought I'd live to see it."

"Well, uh, technically we didn't," Xigbar reminded him.

"So the newer members were able to see far more than we were," Vexen sighed, almost bitterly. Another thing he never thought he'd have to do: admit that those traitors had been right. "Perhaps it was because they did not begin the whole organization. They were less attached to it…"

"That's all fine and dandy," Xigbar interrupted, frowning a little. "But they're already out and we're still stuck here." He sat down in the chair Xemnas had been sitting in and propped his feet up on the desk.

"We could leave now if we really wanted to," Vexen commented, putting a finger to his chin in thought.

"Well, it's not like I'm thrilled about sticking around here," Xigbar said, seeming ready to jump on the chance to leave.

"One moment, gentlemen," Xaldin said, glancing between the two of them, frowning deeply. "It can't be as simple as that…"

"Uh… yeah," Xigbar said, making a face at him. "Just like that."

"Hold on for a moment," Xaldin held up a hand. "It _isn't_ that easy. We'll have Seven coming after us. Plus, I don't fancy the Superior angry with us as well."

"I never fancied you a coward, Three," Vexen stated harshly.

"Call it erring on the side of caution," Xaldin explained, unfazed. "Without us here, he and Seven could do as they pleased. Our place here is to keep those two in check. Without our advice, all the others could easily be dead. It may not seem as though he listens to us, but he has given our advice some thought and listened to an extent. He doesn't want to lose powerful supporters. He would have to be a fool, and we all know this, more or less, is not true."

There was silence for a moment while the other two considered Xaldin's words. Vexen knew he was right. He wanted to leave, but for the sake of the world and even their own lives, it was best that they didn't.

"Very well," Vexen sighed. "Forgive me for wishing to reform what is left of my life."

"New life," Xigbar chimed in.

"Apology accepted," Xaldin told Vexen, ignoring Xigbar. "It's probably only a matter of time. We'll be out of here soon, but for the time being, we must look out for ourselves and the others. We will need those numbers when the time comes."

Vexen nodded his head, frowning. He was intrigued. Never before had Xaldin shown any interest for the well-being of the others, even if it was to fight in numbers. He had always preferred to show off and fight alone. This made Vexen wonder… there had to be something about this world. Something more than met the eye, that was. He stood from his chair without a word. He then retreated back into his laboratory to experiment more with the samples he had. He needed to know more about this and he absolutely refused to rest until he uncovered the truth.

As Vexen disappeared, Xigbar scratched his head and groaned. This wasn't his idea of what heroes did at all. By the look on his face, Xaldin had to agree with him. They both knew, however, that Vexen would hole himself up in his laboratory for a good long while, so they were at a loss for what to do. Xaldin was about to speak when they heard the creak of the door. Xigbar got up and readied himself for a fight, aiming his weapon at the hallway, but soon found that there would be no need for that.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Xaldin demanded as Xigbar lowered his weapon and eventually put it away.

"I apologize," Lexaeus said, pushing the door closed as Zexion entered behind him. "I was detained and Six came looking for me."

"Okay, great," Xigbar grinned at them. "You guys get to explain this to the resident psychopath so that he doesn't kill you both at first sight."

"That's enough of the name calling," Xaldin scolded, returning his attention to Lexaeus and Zexion. "Seven was under the impression that we had been betrayed." Zexion made a noise that closely resembled a snort of laughter.

"How ridiculous," he said, almost seeming insulted. "The Superior should trust our loyalty far before _his_. We are here because we chose to follow him to the very end and beyond."

"There's no time for this now," Lexaeus urged him. "We must explain our theory to the Superior now. It is imperative." Zexion fell silent and simply nodded. Xigbar and Xaldin, though shocked that Zexion shut up when he was told to and curious about this 'theory' of theirs, realized Lexaeus' sense of urgency. The four of them made their way to the Superior's room quickly. It was difficult to keep up with Lexaeus without running, yet they all entered the room after one another. Upon entering, Saïx looked perfectly ready to take out his weapon and fight.

"YOU!" he said. "How dare you leave without—"

"Pipe down," Lexaeus told him. "I left in search for any Heartless that may be in this world. I found none, but I do have a theory."

"I see…" the Superior nodded his head and waited for Lexaeus to go on.

"I happened upon… a rather large number of goddesses," he explained, ignoring the skeptical looks of most of the Nobodies in the room. "I spoke with Six about this extensively and we came to the conclusion that they were the ones who brought us here. As there are no Heartless in this world, they must wish for us to save the world from something other than that."

Xemnas was quiet for several moments. In that time, one would be able to hear a pin drop. Xaldin was almost under the impression that even their Superior had no arguments. Even Saïx looked ready to accept it with a few tentative glances at Xemnas finally spoke.

"A good theory, Five, but there are far too many holes in it for me to simply give up on our aspirations for Kingdom Hearts," he told them. Lexaeus looked incredulous, but Zexion's expression was totally unreadable until he spoke.

"With all due respect," he cut in, "but Kingdom Hearts doesn't even exist in this world. Even if it did, there are no Heartless to help it grow. How are we supposed to restore something that doesn't exist and can't grow?"

"Have you explored every inch of this world?" Xemnas asked him. Zexion frowned and fell silent. "Jumping to conclusions as usual. Kingdom Hearts is here. We're just not looking hard enough."

"We haven't searched every inch, but we have been here for a long time," Lexaeus stated reasonably. "I think we would have heard about it by now."

"There is the chance that it has not been discovered, which is quite fortunated for us," Xemnas said, leaning back in his chair.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Zexion snapped, causing all members present to focus their attention on him. Xaldin was certainly as shocked as everyone else looked. "Who in their right mind would _miss_ a giant heart in the sky? No one! It would have been discovered!"

"You are way out of line, Six," Saïx snapped. "How dare you question our Superior in such a manner!"

"Guys…" Xaldin said calmly, attempting to get their attention.

"Be quiet," Zexion told him. "I wasn't talking to you!"

"Guys." Lexaeus glanced at Xaldin, unsure of what to do.

"And the Superior wasn't talking to you," Saïx countered, seeming to be growing just as angry as Zexion was.

"You have no right to—"

"GUYS!" Xaldin nearly had to yell to get their attention. "Stop. Fighting. This is absolutely ridiculous and isn't getting us anywhere."

"Yeah," Xigbar nodded and grabbed Zexion by the back of the shirt and pulled him out the door. Lexaeus and Xaldin followed and waited to speak until the door was shut.

"We're explaining this to Vexen," Lexaeus told Zexion, who seemed to be calming down from the sudden rage. "Perhaps he'll know what to make of all of this."

END CHAPTER 9

--

Thanks for reading you guys!

_Firewolf _– Yes! I am indeed back… kind of. I tend to portray Lexaeus as far smarter than most people do because I love him to pieces. I can't stand when people make him stupid, so I tend to make him the smartest one most of the time. I'm glad to be back!

_XxAnimeFelinexX_ – Thanks for the review. I'll update more often now (hopefully).

_Xemagirl_ – xD Yes. I've returned. It's been a long time.

_Nocturnal Equine_ – Thank you! I was going for original. I'm really glad I've gotten you hooked!

_Ace94d_ – I like to keep good/evil a bit ambiguous. No definitive line makes for a more interesting story, in my opinion. Glad you like it!

_Number XIV Roxanne_ – Thank you! I'm so glad you like it so far!

_Lady Keyblade _– lol No. Zexion will not be raped, I promise. Things will happen, but not so much the rape. xD


	10. Chapter 10: Searching for Answers

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. **Yaoi** and **Het** are both included.

**A/N**: Woo! This is chapter 10 guys! I'm so pleased that all of you are enjoying this. I have over 35 people watching for updates and around 30 of you have this favorited. Thank you all so much! I really glad you're enjoying it. On with the show!

--

Chapter 10: Searching for Answers

A ladybug flew quickly across the plains, darting between blades of grass, hoping to avoid any sort of encounter with those strange humans. Honestly, the whole race was so barbaric. The tiny ladybug never really understood any of them, scurrying about doing all of these strange things. They were so busy doing other things, it was no wonder none of them had learned to fly. Though, it would certainly be easier for them to get around that way and less of her relatives would be stepped on by their giant feet.

Her antennae perked up as she heard the humans rapidly approaching. She began to panic, not wanting to be next to be stepped on. She finally landed on a tree to rest her wings. Humans were so unobservant. They wouldn't even notice her there, probably.

"I'm tired… could we rest for just a second?" Naminé asked, almost pleadingly.

"We're almost there," Marluxia informed her, holding her arm so that she would be able to keep up with him. "No use in resting now."

"Just for a second?" she repeated, resting her free hand against a nearby tree. A ladybug took off just as she placed her hand where it was perched. It flew past Marluxia's face, but he released Naminé's arm to bat it away.

"Fine," he sighed. "Just for a second." He glanced over at Roxas, who had moved ahead of the two of them to glance into the distance.

"is that where we're going?" he asked, pointing toward a rundown shack. Marluxia followed his gaze, nodding slightly.

"Yeah," he told him. "That's it." Roxas lifted his head to acknowledge the statement, but his expression remained entirely neutral, making it impossible for Marluxia to tell what he was thinking. He remembered why he never enjoyed the boy's company, but he would endure for the time being. He needed him around for now.

They were on their way once more after a few more moments. They reached the shack far before nightfall, which was fortunate. Almost immediately after entering, Marluxia noticed Demyx's presence. A grin spread across his features as he approached him from the doorway.

"Ah, excellent," he said. "I heard something may have happened to you. Wonderful to see that those rumors are false." He glanced back at Roxas, whose expression was still stoic. Again, very frustrating. The boy wouldn't even _pretend_ to have feelings. That was disappointing.

"Oh… uh, thanks…" Demyx said softly. "That's um… kind of a long story."

"He says Six let him go," Luxord said from the couch, not looking up from the book he was reading. Marluxia frowned. He didn't remember that book lying around…

"Oh, I guess it isn't that long…" Demyx muttered.

"He says Zexion did what?" Marluxia demanded, shaking his head. "I don't think so. Even if he did, there has to be some ulterior motive or…"

"No, it was nothing like that!" Demyx countered, flushing slightly. Marluxia was shocked into silence at Demyx's quick reaction to his accusations. Only for a moment, though. He then began to insist that Demyx had been brainwashed, which Demyx also denied rather insistently. Axel had stopped paying attention after that. He was focused on the boy that had come in with Marluxia. He pushed himself away from the wall, slowly following the younger Nobody down the hall as he made an attempt to get away from the bickering.

"Hey…" Roxas stopped dead and spun around as the voice came from behind him. His expression remained neutral, as always, but Axel had grown accustomed to it.

"Hey Axel," he said softly. "You're here too." It wasn't a question.

"We're all here," Axel reminded him, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. "Were you expecting me to be any special?"

"I don't know," Roxas admitted. "I guess not." Axel fell silent and looked down at the ground. At that point, Demyx stormed between them down the hall and went into a room, slamming the door behind him. The vibrations sent quite a bit of dust flying and quite a few bugs scurrying out of sight, but the two Nobodies ignored that. Roxas made a move to leave, but Axel grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back to face him. Roxas' expression finally changed to that of slight surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"Why the hell did you leave?" Axel demanded. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened."

"Yes, it would have," Roxas said flatly. Maybe it was scolding. Axel couldn't really tell. "Don't give me that shit, Axel. If I hadn't left on my own, DiZ would have found me anyway. He had that Riku guy working for him."

"We could have fought him off," Axel protested. "If you hadn't gone to fight alone—"

"No one would bother…"

"Shut up!" Axel snapped, slamming Roxas back against the wall. "_I_ missed you! _I_ would have helped you! _I_ spent the rest of my fucking life there trying to bring you back!" Roxas had fallen silent. Even the chatter in the next room seemed to have died down to a low whisper. Axel let go of him and headed back to the sitting room. All attention was on him, as expected, though soon enough each member returned to their previous conversations, not bother to ask what exactly had happened in the hallway.

"As I said, there was this woman," He overheard Luxord saying. "She had to be a seer of some sort because she told us of this prophecy. I'm not entirely sure if I believe in such a thing."

"What did she say?" Marluxia asked, impatiently. It was suddenly clear to Axel that Luxord had been talking about this for a while, not having gotten to the point yet.

"She said that we would be tested," he finally stated.

"Of course…" Marluxia said softly, moving away from Luxord. "A test. We must be prophesized to save this world from _them_." He smirked, having drawn everybody's attention. Luxord lifted an eyebrow, looking confused.

"Beg pardon. Them?" he finally asked. Marluxia glanced over at him and sighed.

"Yes, _them_," he said. "The Superior and his faithful pets. That has to be it."

"Are you sure?" Naminé asked, curiously. Even Roxas and Demyx had rejoined them, standing at the entrance of the hallway.

"What else could it be?" he asked her. "We've been given this test and we will regain our hearts. I can lead us on this quest to…"

"Yeah, sure. Like you did last time?"

"Excuse me?" Marluxia whipped round, glaring toward the source of the voice. Larxene had just walked through the door and was shaking her head, looking almost amused by all of this.

"What we need to do is figure out what this test _really_ is," she went on, pointedly ignoring Marluxia's glare. "The test will be easier to pass if we know what it's about and aren't taking shots in the dark on it." Marluxia rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair.

"That won't be as easy as it sounds," Axel said, frowning.

"I hope it's not a written test," Demyx said, frowning. "I don't test well… Oh! Unless it's multiple choice. I can do that!"

"What are you babbling on about?" Luxord asked. Demyx flushed and fell silent once more.

"Let's see you come up with something better," Roxas said, crossing his arms over his chest. Demyx seemed surprised and grateful that someone was defending his wish to have a multiple choice test.

"Teamwork," Luxord said, mirroring Roxas and crossing his arms. "They was us to save the world, thus they probably want to see how well we work as a team. Without teamwork, we're nothing."

"Well, we've already failed at that," Axel snapped, throwing his hands up and rolling his eyes. "It's obviously a test of strength."

"Or magic ability," Larxene threw in, though perhaps just because she wanted to frustrate everybody more than they already were.

"Maybe it's a test of character…" Naminé said softly. All eyes turned to her at that and she flushed slightly.

"Oh, great," Axel muttered. "There goes our chance at ever passing."

"Why would they do that?" Larxene snapped. "If they brought us here, they have to know what we're like. They should know by now that our character isn't up to parr here."

"I know," Naminé said, frowning a little bit. "But maybe they expect us to have changed or something. They might be using this test to see if we're worthy of being heroes. So it's more like a quiz, then the real test comes in afterwards. They want us to prove that we can do it before they entrust us with the job."

"Well this sucks," Axel groaned.

"He's right. It's pretty hopeless if that's the case," Larxene added, sitting on the couch next to Luxord and propping her feet up on the worn coffee table. Naminé sighed and looked down. Roxas watched her for a moment before looking back up at the rest of the members in the room.

"No, it's not," He stated. "Not if we think about that as we do it. We know what 'good' people are like. We've all met at least one."

"That's easy for you to say," Axel said, rolling his eyes. "You were a part of one."

"That's not what I meant," Roxas snapped. "We all met him. We know what he's like and how he handles things. Why not at least try acting like him so we can pass this test?"

"Slaughter Nobodies and Heartless with our Keyblades?" Marluxia asked sarcastically. Roxas groaned in frustration.

"Never mind!"

"…so much for that motivational speech." Roxas glared at Axel who looked away and fell silent once more.

* * *

Xaldin shut the door softly after making sure that they weren't being followed. As long as Xemnas and Saïx could keep each other occupied, the rest of them could speak in private. Xigbar remained by the door, listening for anyone coming down the hall. This was not a conversation for the other two in the house to hear. Vexen had placed himself in a corner of the room, assuming a thoughtful position. Xaldin sat on a chair next to the desk Zexion had perched himself on. Lexaeus leaned up against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"So now you can tell us," Xigbar said. "What did this goddess chick of yours say?" Lexaeus sighed softly and glanced over at him.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," he told him.

"Whatever you have to say, it's nothing compared to what Seven has said in your absence," Xaldin assured him. "What did she say?"

"The queen wants us to unite… all fourteen of us," he explained, looking between the four Nobodies in the room. "To save the world from 'disorder'."

"…I've said this before," Vexen stated after a long silence. "Goddess or otherwise, anything that wants a group of Nobodies to save the world must need a significant amount of mental therapy."

"I know it sounds crazy…"

"No, it sounds absolutely insane," Xaldin interrupted.

"That may be so," Lexaeus sighed, placing a hand to his head, "but she said that if I don't do this, she'd take something important from me." There was a very long pause before any of them even tried guessing what it could be.

"Your... tomahawk?" Xigbar asked, lifting his eyebrows. Lexaeus shrugged his shoulders. Vexen opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He glanced between the other four before standing to leave. Xigbar and Xaldin glanced at each other, frowning, before getting up to follow him out. This left Lexaeus and Zexion alone to wonder what had made them all leave so suddenly.

"What...?" Zexion started, but Lexaeus simply shook his head, sighing softly.

"That goddess got me thinking," he said, glancing at the smaller Nobody.

"About what?" Zexion asked, cocking his head to the side.

"The traitors." Noting Zexion's frown, Lexaeus continued with his explanation. "Perhaps this is crazy too, but I began to believe that maybe they weren't really the enemy to begin with..."

"That maybe they saw something we didn't because of our blind loyalty?" Zexion finished for him.

"So you've been thinking about it too," Lexaeus stated, seeming relieved that someone else understood his thoughts.

"I have..." he nodded. "I'm almost ashamed that I didn't consider their point of view before."

"That makes two of us." Zexion ran a hand through his hair as he thought, brushing it away from his eyes for just a moment before letting it fall back into place.

"So what now?" he asked. Lexaeus hesitated for a moment, frowning slightly.

"I think there is only one option," he admitted. "We have to unite everyone as I have been instructed to do."

"That's easier said than done," Zexion reminded him, hesitantly. "How are we supposed to convince those who don't trust us when we can't even convince those that do?"

"I don't know," Lexaeus said simply, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "We'll need to tick them... getting them into one place will be a start. It's getting along that may be impossible." Zexion looked skeptical, but sighed, defeated.

"I suppose that's the best plan we have for now..." Lexaeus nodded his head in agreement. The two sat in silence for quite some time. Lexaeus glanced out the window as the sun was sinking below the horizon. He stood up then and placed a hand on Zexion's shoulder, attempting to reassure him. It lingered for a moment before he finally left through the door.

* * *

As the sun disappeared, a dark figure stopped as the cabin came into view. A cruel grin spread across his features before he transformed and ran at full speed toward one of the dimly lit rooms.

END CHAPTER 10

* * *

Thanks for reading you guys!

_Elias Dae _– Yes! I am, indeed, alive. It's fortunate too. xD Glad to see you're still around. Thanks for the review!

_The White Raven013 _– I'm so glad you found this chapter so intriguing. The plot is definitely thickening after all of this. As for the seer, I'm sorry to say you won't see much of her because she's kind of a behind-the-scenes player, but I promise you'll see her at least once more. Glad you're enjoying it!

_Broken Vows _– Wow! I'm glad I left that impression on you. I had to reread everything, quite honestly, as I was writing up this chapter. I forgot what had happened in my own fic, which is kind of sad. xD I'm glad you're enjoying this!

_Lightning-in-the-dark _– Thank you. It's hard to say where I get my ideas for anything. This really just came to me one day. I can't even remember where it popped up, but I want to say during a math class. My creativity likes to run wild when I'm supposed to be doing something else that I don't want to, quite honestly. Anyhow, thank you for the review! I hope you keep reading!

_Silver Tears 11_ – Haha! No, Zexion wasn't thinking murder at this point, but he definitely had a few choice words to say to their Superior that he wasn't allowed to at this point. xD Let's see, here's the list of the animals:

Zexion – weasel

Lexaeus – bear

Vexen – tortoise

Xigbar – porcupine

Xaldin – raccoon

Saïx – wolf

Axel – fox

Marluxia – monkey

Larxene – firefly

Luxord – horse

Roxas – cat

Naminé – mouse

Demyx – rabbit

That's it thus far, but you haven't learned the Superior's animal yet. ;;; Thanks for the review!

_Firewolf _– I'm glad you enjoy it and I've been working on fixing that, so it's good to see that I've accomplished a little bit in that respect. Though, 30ish chapters means I'm about 1/3 done with this fic! Yay! Hope you keep reading!


	11. Chapter 11: Unrecognized Facts

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. **Yaoi** and **Het** are both included.

**A/N**: Ooh! Look! Another quickish update! I'm so proud of me! Only not so much. I had this all written out and I didn't post it because I've been too lazy to type it out. Chapter 12 is only half written, but I'll try to be faster with the updates. No promises, though, since I do want the chapters to be good. That's my primary concern there. Hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it.

--

**Chapter 11**: Unrecognized Facts

A match was struck, bringing light back to the room. The gnat that had occupied the unlit candle immediately took flight and headed toward the window, running into the wall in the process. It became disoriented after a moment, flying in circles before managing to find the window, leaving the dangerous room. Those humans had no idea what sudden light did for the headache he now had. Stupid humans.

Vexen used the match to light the candle that had previously been occupied by the tiny bug. He blew the match out before setting it in a small ashtray. He was on the verge of a breakthrough, he could just feel it. He had to be getting close to the answers they had been seeking for so long. Using himself as a test subject was, of course, not ideal, but it was the only way. He did not want to get anyone else's hopes up.

He had written down his findings, which were extensive, to be sure. However, he hadn't been able to disprove the almost impossible hypothesis. He had worked long and hard to do so, but it all pointed toward one thing. He needed to, however, figure out how to explain and prove his impossible findings to the others. It was unlikely many of them would believe him. Or any of them, really. They were far too analytical to just accept his hypothesis without running tests of their own. Perhaps that was what he needed to let them do, as he only believed it through experience. Even then, he was doubtful.

He was in the process of finishing up his notes for the evening, deciding to tell at least Lexaeus about his hypothesis. He, out of all of them, was the most inclined to believe him. As he turned his back, something crashed through the window. Judging by the sound, it was very large. Vexen whirled around, his shield materializing in his hand as he did so. However, it was far too quick, as he immediately came face to snout with bared teeth and extended claws.

"You… are one of us," he said, his eyes narrowing. "What is the meaning of this?"

The creature did not answer, but lunged forward, snapping its jaws. It caught Vexen's hand, causing him to drop the shield in surprise and agony. The creature let go and snapped again, catching hold of the same hand that had been brought up to shield his neck from the gnashing teeth. Vexen cried out this time, but the animal wasn't finished. It caught the scientist by the side, throwing him at the counter. Vexen fell to the floor before the lab equipment teetered off the side and came crashing down on top of him.

The animal was ready to finish the job, stalking slowly toward Vexen, growling menacingly. Despite his efforts to intimidate, the man did not move from where he lay. It didn't matter to the animal, though. The scientist was better off dead, it just needed to be sure. However, it was interrupted by the sound of voices and footsteps heading toward the room It growled, angry and turned to leave, snatching the notes off the table in its mouth before rushing out the window and disappeared into the night.

Xaldin was the first to reach the room after he had heard the commotion. He flung the door open, drawing his spears and preparing for a fight. He scanned the room cautiously, frowning when he couldn't see anything in the room. Xigbar, Lexaeus and Zexion arrived soon after, stopping just behind Xaldin as he put his hand up to stop them.

"What the hell happened in here?" Xigbar demanded, seeming ready to shoot anything that moved within the room. Zexion pushed past Xaldin's arm, his brows creased in concentration.

"Vexen was attacked," he informed them, not once taking his eyes off the room. "The scent is familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Vexen's scent is too strongly mixed with it. I can't discern it."

While he spoke, Lexaeus had also moved into the room, setting his tomahawk down and kneeling down by Vexen. He cleared away some of the broken equipment as gently as he could before lifting Vexen to rest on his shoulders.

"He needs medical treatment immediately," he stated, placing the scientist onto his bed. Xaldin and Zexion moved to his side while Xigbar seemed determined to keep his guns drawn, waiting for the intruder to return. The first three fussed over Vexen as footsteps could be heard. Xigbar shushed them for a moment and lunged, turning his gun to the doorway and pointing it directly between the eyes of his superior.

"What is the meaning of this?" Xemnas demanded, his eyes narrowing. Xigbar sighed, not seeming intimidated, yet he lowered his weapon to his side.

"Four was attacked by something," Xigbar explained, pointing toward the bed.

"Oh, dear," Xemnas said, not sounding concerned at all. "Is he all right?"

"He hasn't faded, if that's what you mean," Xigbar said, annoyed.

"It's not much better than that," Lexaeus said. "We can't wake him. Whatever attacked him, it caught him off guard." Saïx had appeared behind the Superior, though he was not human. He was rather large still, even for a wolf.

"Are there any clues as to what it could be?" he growled. Everyone paused for a second to look at him, almost suspiciously. After a moment, Lexaeus finally broke the silence and answered.

"Ah… no," he said. "Unfortunately not." Saïx only nodded, causing Lexaeus to glance over at Xaldin, who also seemed quite wary of this.

"Then there isn't much we can do, is there?" Saïx asked, surprisingly level headed for being such a ferocious predator. "Shut the windows and hope that it doesn't happen again." He turned the and walked back toward his room. No one spoke until he was out of sight.

"He is absolutely right," Xemnas said. "Sleep would be beneficial to us all. We will investigate in the morning." He also turned at that point and left the room as well, shutting the door behind him. There was a momentary silence before Xaldin finally spoke.

"I, unfortunately, do not agree," he said, watching the door. "If this creature comes back, we must be prepared." There was a quiet murmur of agreement.

"Even if Vexen wasn't a specific target, it could be looking to take the rest of us out," Lexaeus added. Xigbar nodded in agreement, glancing up at the open window, seeming almost angry at it.

"I don't think this was something random," he said, shaking his head. "It had to be somebody… or something with a purpose. Obviously with a bit of a grudge against us." Zexion glanced over at Lexaeus.

"I see. That's why you lied to Number Seven," he said, understanding suddenly. Lexaeus nodded his head, giving the younger man a smile.

"Precisely," he said. "In fact… he turns into a wolf, quite obviously. Since that is the case, the majority of the evidence that I can see at this time points to him. Those bites are canine." He pointed to Vexen's arms and face.

"Well, then. That settles it," Xaldin said, sighing. "If that's the case, sleeping is the last thing we want to do."

"Then we'll need to be on our toes," Lexaeus spoke what they were all thinking. "We'll work in shifts so that some of us have time to sleep while the other two here are awake and wary of everything going on."

Either way, this was going to be a long night, Xigbar decided.

--

Axel had been tossing and turning for hours. How many hours, he didn't know, but it was a damn long time. He groaned and turned over once again. He just couldn't get comfortable on that stupid bed. He threw the tiny blanket off his lap and dropped to the floor, wincing slightly when his feet made a 'thump' on the hardwood floor. He ran a hand through his hair and absently made his way into the living room area, trying to be quiet so that he wouldn't' wake the other up.

"Well, well, well," a voice said softly. Axel spun around quickly, ready to fight or run away, whichever was most beneficial at the time, but it was just Marluxia. Axel breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in a nearby chair.

"Don't' you ever sleep?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. Marluxia chuckled softly, ignoring the question. He always did that…

"Congratulations," he said, causing Axel to frown. That wasn't the answer to his question, obviously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He had the impression that he was being mocked. Marluxia chuckled once again, which was starting to get really annoying.

"And here I thought you'd be more excited than this," he said. "Such a disappointment." As Axel continued to frown at him, Marluxia rolled his eyes. "Take a good look at yourself."

Axel cocked an eyebrow and examined his hand for a moment. Marluxia waited patiently as Axel turned it over a couple times, getting ready to shrug in confusion when realization dawned on his face.

"Oh, hey. Wow," he commented. "But I didn't do anything. I wasn't trying or…"

"Well, neither was I when I learned to control," Marluxia stated, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "I think that it's a combination of several things. Willpower and strength being the most important."

"Ah…" Axel fell silent then, not caring that Marluxia was still studying him.

"What do you think?" Marluxia finally asked.

"I don't know," Axel said. "You've been here longer. I guess you're right about…"

"I meant about the others," Marluxia cut him off.

"Huh?" Axel gave him a look. "I don't know what you're talking about. What am I supposed to think about them?"

"You, if I recall correctly, never really gave a damn about anyone but yourself," Marluxia said, fixing Axel with an amused grin. "I just wanted to see if anything had changed.

Axel laughed at that and shook his head. "It's still all about me, Marly," he said with a smirk. "Hate to burst your bubble there."

"Hm… I see…" Marluxia lifted an eyebrow. "So, Roxas… you don't care about him?"

"So I think he's worth more than your sorry ass," Axel said. "So sue me."

"I don't think it's in your best interests to care so much," Marluxia warned him. "If Luxord is speaking the truth, that was your downfall last time."

"Hey, I'm a Nobody, remember?" Axel reminded him. "I don't have a heart to care with."

"And yet you did," Marluxia stated, frowning now, no longer seeming amused by the fact that Axel actually seemed to care about another. "Was it that you wanted so badly to care that you lost all the ruthlessness you exhibited when destroying my plans?" Axel glared at him, but Marluxia went on. "And what happened to 'death to traitors'? If your hypocrisy—"

"I wouldn't be talking about hypocrites that way," Axel cut him off. "You've become one yourself."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marluxia snapped.

"Oh, sure," Axel rolled his eyes and put his hands in front of him in an exaggerated gesture. "I'm seeing big, beautiful blue eyes and flowing blonde hair…"

"Naminé?"

"No, Luxord," Axel frowned at him, annoyed. "Of course Naminé."

"Ah… touché," Marluxia laughed, his good humor seeming to return. "Perhaps I do have an odd… fondness for the girl."

"I think you're being a selfish bastard," Axel said, turning sideways in his chair.

"And you're not?" Marluxia countered, lifting an eyebrow.

"Touché," Axel said, mockingly. Marluxia lifted his eyebrows and the two fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Axel was about to speak when the door flew open. The two men stood up, ready to fight, but it was just Larxene. Axel sighed and flopped back down onto the couch. Marluxia, however, walked over to her and said something to her softly. She glanced over at Axel as Marluxia walked outside without another word. Axel frowned as Larxene shut the door and sat down in Marluxia's spot. Before he could speak, she cut him off.

"So… you're not a fox. Congratulations," she said, seeming rather intrigued.

"Guess not," Axel said, grinning. "Think I could do that… thing that you guys do and turn into one whenever I want?"

"Probably," she shrugged. "Why don't you try it?"

"How?" he asked, standing up.

"Oh, honestly. We figured this out for ourselves," she said. As he frowned, she grinned at him. "Just close your eyes and think like a fox. Remember how it felt."

"Oh. Okay," he closed his eyes, attempting to remember what it was like to be a fox. Besides small and furry. He was far more alert. His hearing was heightened, though his sight wasn't nearly as good. He was faster too. His eyes shot open as he felt himself shrinking and his clothes fell away from his body. He landed on all fours, feeling rather fuzzy again.

"Definitely a fox," Larxene said, verifying it for him. He grinned the best he could as a fox before closing his eyes again, feeling himself change back into human form. Larxene tossed his pants at him, shaking her head.

"Put your clothes on," she told him. "You have no shame." He shrugged slightly and got dressed halfway, pulling the pants on before sitting down in the chair again.

"Are you just now realizing this, or are you stating the obvious?"

"I'm reminding myself," she told him, leaning back on the couch, seeming more tired than he'd ever seen her before. He hadn't really taken note of how she looked or seemed to be feeling before now, but he noticed dark circles under her eyes and her hair wasn't nearly in the pristine condition it had been when they lived in Castle Oblivion. She glanced over at him, catching him staring. "What?"

Well now he had to make up a lie. He wasn't going to ask her why she was looking so haggard lately. That would be hazardous to his health, he was sure of it. So, instead, he bit his lip and frowned in her direction before asking another question that had been on his mind for quite a while as well.

"Why are you being so…"

"So what?" she demanded impatiently, glaring.

"Nice," he said, not at all afraid of the consequences. Compared to asking about her looks, this was a piece of cake.

"You really have to ask?" she frowned at him. Axel nodded his head.

"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't have," he told her. "Got it memorized?"

"Survival," she told him, tapping her temple as he often had done.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes as she smirked. "What's that supposed to mean?'

"I'm a fucking firefly," she told him, losing her newfound patience. "It wouldn't do me any good to piss people off."

"I see your point," he frowned. "What the hell is with this whole… animal thing? It feels like we're back in the Pridelands."

"Hell if I know," Larxene snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't have all the answers."

"Oh. Well, that's disappointing," he teased, letting a big sigh.

"Shut up," she said, lightning playing at her fingertips dangerously. He wisely shut his mouth. "I just think something's going to happen pretty soon."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Will you stop with the stupid questions?" she snapped. Axel raised his hands in defeat. "I don't know. I just have this weird feeling that we're going to do something pretty damn important."

"Oh, great," he groaned. "Every time we're told we need to do something important, we screw up and someone dies. That's not exactly how I pictured doing things this time."

"No kidding," she sighed, shaking her head. "We'll have to see, won't we?" He nodded as they both fell silent before she glanced at him. "You hungry?"

"Starving," he confirmed immediately.

"Let's get breakfast," she said, glancing out the window as the sun started to rise. "I'll cook."

"Why can't I?" he asked.

"Your unique method burns the toast," she snapped. "I hate burned toast."

END CHAPTER 11

--

It seems I lost all my reviewers. I'm very sad about this, but thank you very much to the three of you who are still reviewing. It is very encouraging to see that you are still very much interested in this story. Thank you so much!

_Silver Tears 11_ – You're very welcome! Everyone causes their share of problems in due time, it just so happens that Zexion manages to outwardly disagree with Saïx.

_Lady Keyblade _– That would be pretty funny, but alas, it is not so. Xemnas is a big secret and he won't be revealed for quite a while. Sorry!

_Firewolf_ – Demyx is very creative, as is Naminé. She's not necessarily the brains, but she has the most innocence of all of them, really. She understands a lot of what the rest don't. The cliffhanger was necessary. I can't stand them either, but it'll keep you all on the edges of your seats. . I'm going to finish this. I'm really attached to this fic.


	12. Chapter 12: Miles to Go

_Façade_

**By**: Lily (Lena) Evans

**Rating**: PG-13 (For now. May go up.)

**Summary**: Alternate Universe. Death can be the symbol of rebirth. The members of what was once Organization XIII find themselves in a strange new world. This time, however, they are split down the middle with a fine line drawn between good and evil. Now, half of the Organization must save their new world from the wrath of those who were once their comrades. In the meantime, they all learn things about themselves that they never knew before. Friendships are formed and some are destroyed, lives are lost and love is found. **Yaoi** and **Het** are both included.

**A/N**: Yay for me! After this comes the hard part, since I don't have any chapters beyond this written out, so I'll be doing it from just the outline, so it may take a little bit longer to get finished. HOWEVER, they will be interesting, I guarantee it. I will explain after you have read the chapter, but you will not be disappointed.

-----------------------------------------

**Chapter 12**: Miles to Go

The gnat was back, but it wasn't quite sure how it managed to fly into the same, rather dangerous room as it had been in before. When the sun rose, however, he knew it was time to sleep. He perched himself on the windowsill, hoping the humans wouldn't see him and put him in an early grave. He didn't even want to know the look on his wife's face if she had to hear from a neighbor that he was lying squashed in some house that he'd promised her he wouldn't go back to. He knew, though, that he was really, really lost. Oh, well. He'd get home tonight. When the humans suddenly returned to the room, however, he took flight, deciding that a nearby tree might be safer.

Zexion struck a match and used it to light a few candles throughout the room as a tiny bug took flight from the windowsill. The sun was shining brightly, but Xaldin insisted that Vexen's lab be exactly the way it was at the time of the attack, to recreate the scenario. The two of them were investigating, hoping to figure out who or what had attacked their comrade. Lexaeus and Xigbar, having had some sleep the night before, were taking turns between watching over Vexen and keeping Xemnas and Saïx occupied.

Zexion was on his hands and knees, examining anything found on the floor. It was rather vulgar, to be perfectly honest, so he was thankful for the rubber gloves he'd put on beforehand. Xaldin was checking the desk, windowsill, bed… anywhere else that could have held clues as to what could have happened the night before.

The easiest for any of them to spot were the paw prints on the ground. Having been around Vexen for quite some time and even watching him transform, Zexion could verify that a tortoise could not make those tracks, leading him to believe it was another member and Vexen had not attempted to transform to defend himself.

"Who do you suppose it could be?" Xaldin asked him suddenly. Zexion glanced up from examining the floor.

"It's hard to say," he admitted, glancing back down at his work before sitting back on his heels. "How can we be sure it wasn't just an animal thinking it could get a quick meal?"

"This definitely had a motive," Xaldin stated. "The window is far too high up for a regular animal to bother trying to get through there. I've seldom even seen animals attack unless attacked first. Plus, it must have known what he was doing in here… his notes are gone." Zexion inadvertently glanced out the window, frowning deeply, worried.

"As I see it, anyone could be suspects. The most likely being Eight, myself, Seven and Thirteen," he said, nearly putting a gloved hand to his chin, though thinking better of it when he saw that the fingertips were slightly blackened. Vexen obviously didn't clean up very often. "I'm not sure which animal Ten is, either, so he is a suspect for the time being." Xaldin nodded his head.

"So we're not to rule out anybody until we know for sure," he said, glancing toward the window in thought. "Who of those can we rule out right away?"

"I would say… the majority, quite honestly," he frowned, seeming only slightly discouraged. "Those prints are definitely canine, ruling out the two of us, Thirteen, Nine, Two and Five. Eight is far too small to have made those prints. Eleven and Twelve aren't even possibilities." Which happened to rule out the most likely suspects. "That leaves Ten, Seven and the Superior…" Xaldin nodded, falling silent and watching the door intently. Zexion glanced toward the window as well. What animal _was_ their Superior? He didn't even know, and that actually scared him.

"I wonder who's next…" Xaldin finally said. Zexion bit his lip, not taking his eyes off the window.

--------------------

A moth fluttered down, landing gracefully on a leaf to rest its wings. After hearing the story about the ominous looking house from the gnat, he decided to stay as far away as possible to avoid being squished by the humans. However, he suddenly realized that his leaf was just as dangerous as the house. Not a moment after he'd landed, a hand reached out and snatched him up, capturing him in the fleshy prison. The moth began to panic, flying around and hitting the human's fingers, desperately seeking a way out. The human with hair as red as fire brought him up to examine his prisoner. As he did so, another human approached.

"Hey," Roxas said, sitting down next to the redhead. Axel didn't look at him at first, but examined the moth for a moment.

"Hey," he said, glancing at him for only a second before turning away again and opening his hand, releasing the hostage moth. An awkward silence followed as the creature took flight as fast as possible. Roxas looked away from Axel, who hadn't attempted to hold his gaze again. After a while, it seemed as though Roxas couldn't quite stand the silence.

"Axel, I…"

"Have you ever just sat outside and watched?" Axel cut him off, causing Roxas to frown. He had a feeling Axel had done it on purpose.

"I… um, no… what?"

"Yeah. It's weird. Kind of quiet, but not the quiet that Castle Oblivion was or anything. No Heartless anywhere to be found. I guess I'm not used to it." Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but Axel cut him off again. "It's a little too peaceful, you know? I kind of wish something would happen."

"Axel…"

"How in the world can we even be here among light and fluffy animals? Hell, we _are_ the fluffy animals, but I don't think…"

"I'm sorry!" Roxas shouted, starting to get annoyed. He hadn't quite meant to say it so loud, so when Axel paused and lifted an eyebrow, Roxas turned a deep shade of red. His friend blinked at him, but remained silent for several more moments.

"That's an apology?" Axel asked. "I was kind of expecting something a little more genuine sounding."

"Shut up," Roxas snapped. "Let me talk for a change." Axel gave him a look, but, surprisingly, obeyed the command. "I'm sorry for the things that I said the other day. I know you missed me. I was just… being selfish, I guess."

"Yeah, I'll say."

"Are you going to let me finish?" Roxas snapped, glaring over at the other Nobody.

"Soliloquize away," Axel told him, leaning back in the grass, resting his head on his arms. Roxas sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry that I never paid all that much attention to you when I should have. I was too busy trying to find my own way. I didn't even see that you were there to help me. I didn't think to pay attention to someone who did act like he cared." A long silence followed, in which the only sound was a song bird in the tree nearby. Finally, Axel spoke tentatively.

"…can I talk now?"

"Go ahead," Roxas waved a hand and brought his knees up to his chest, resting his arms on them.

"Cool," Axel nodded. "Well, apology accepted." Roxas smiled slightly at those words. "It's all good now. We're together here, anyway."

"Yeah…" Roxas sighed and lifted his head to glance around a little bit. "You know, you're right. It is really peaceful around here. It's weird."

"Yeah. But it sure beats that damn castle we had," Axel stated, waving a hand. "It's great not having the resident psychopath around."

"Who? Saïx?" Roxas asked lifting an eyebrow, though more in amusement than anything else.

"Yeah, him," Axel said, sighing softly and leaning back in the grass. "I wonder what the first seven are doing here." He glanced at Roxas, almost looking nervous. "Think they're looking for us?"

"Probably," Roxas said almost immediately. "If Xemnas is around…"

"Dammit," Axel groaned. "He always creeped me out. It's like there's always something watching me."

"I know what you mean," Roxas agreed, glancing around slightly.

As it would be, they were being watched. The boy clutched his sword, glaring in the direction of the redhead in particular. He took a deep breath and emerged from the bushes and lunged. Axel barely had time to react as he was shoved back to the ground. He summoned his chakrams and hit the boy in the side, causing him to yelp and jump up, clutching the bleeding wound tightly.

Roxas had drawn his keyblade to fight, but paused for a moment, staring at the boy. He was about the same age as Roxas. His silver hair was in disarray with leaves caught in it. Roxas took a step forward, cautiously.

"But you're… Riku," he said, baffled. Riku had…

"No!" the boy snapped. "I'm not!"

"He's right," Axel said, standing up slowly. "It's that replica that Vexen made."

"Nice to know you remember me," the replica glared at him, holding his sword tightly still.

"Hey, hey, I helped you, remember?" Axel said, poking him in the chest, causing him to lift his sword slightly. Roxas gave Axel a look of disapproval before turning back to the boy.

"You didn't help me!" he yelled, lifting his sword fully and pointing it at Axel again. "You used me and then just left me to die! I helped you and you didn't even _try_ to help me!"

"We all died anyway, so I don't see what you're bitching about," Axel said nonchalantly, running a hand through his hair, though taking a slight step back away from the blade.

"You would have died as well," Roxas continued in a slightly gentler tone. He pushed Axel back further. "It's just as well that you died sooner than later." The replica growled and, reluctantly, put his sword away.

"I might not have," he said. "If I'd compromised with the Keyblade master…"

"Tried that," Axel cut him off. "Died anyway."

"I could have been different…" he muttered, dropping his sword and looking away. He seemed to have lost all fight in him within moments, seeming not only discouraged but a bit distressed as well. "Well… I suppose it's just as well that you put up more of a fight than my creator."

"What was that?" Roxas asked, frowning deeply at the words. His creator… that meant… The Replica smirked slightly, seeming quite pleased with himself.

"Vexen," he told them, confidence coming back into his voice. "I got him good."

"Did you kill him?" Axel asked, almost hopefully.

"Tried to," the Replica answered him, the smirk remaining on his face. "I don't know if I did or not. The others were coming and I don't think I could have taken all of them at once. Especially that wolf they have."

Roxas cringed at the mention of a wolf. Saïx… it had to be. He was the one who attacked Demyx too. It was coming together now. And then the Replica… Roxas had thought it would be just the Nobodies, but the Replica made everything different entirely. However, now was not the time to get lost in his thoughts, so Roxas decided he may as well focus, because Axel was looking perfectly pleased with the Replica now as well.

"Why did you try to kill him?" he asked. The Replica, once again, became almost furious, lifting his sword and pointing it in Roxas' direction. Axel gave him a frown of disapproval, but he didn't retract the question.

"Because he made me nothing," the Replica told him, venom dripping through his words. "I'm an empty shell… no, worse. I'm an empty _replica_ of a real person. Nothing more than a tool for him! _Because_ of him!"

"He made you the only way he knew how," Roxas said, frowning. Axel turned to stare at him, seeming confused at his defense for Vexen. The Replica, on the other hand, was less than amused as he continued to point his sword in Roxas' direction.

"Don't defend him!" the Replica and Axel said together.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Larxene's voice called. They heard her before they saw her, but after a few moments she emerged at the top of the hill with Demyx following right behind her. She paused when she got there, though, observing the scene before speaking again. "Oh, would you look at this." She grinned slightly. "It's Vexen's little toy."

"Shut up!" he snapped, moving his sword from Roxas to point at her. "I have a name!"

"What is it?" Demyx asked, relatively innocently. Larxene glared back at him, but the Replica looked almost pleased that someone had finally asked.

"It's Nemo," he said.

"Nemo?" Larxene asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Nemo…" Demyx echoed, seeming deep in thought. "I think I met a fish who…"

"Where'd you get a name like that?" Larxene continued, leaving Demyx to ponder his own memories for that fish he knew.

"When I first arrived a woman was kind enough to take me in," he said. "I told her that I didn't have a name, so she gave me one. She's the only person who's ever been kind to me."

"Why didn't you stay there, then?" Axel asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Mind your own business," the Replica snapped. Clearly he wasn't in the best of moods, so Axel decided to drop it.

"Larxene," Demyx said, tugging at her sleeve. "Let's let him stay here with us. That way he doesn't need to wander around alone at night."

"What?" Axel shouted, whirling around to look at Demyx. "He just tried to kill me!"

"He's not doing it anymore," Demyx reminded him, pointing at the Replica who had finally sheathed his sword. "Come on. Please?"

Larxene was silent for a good while, watching the conversation between her two comrades and weighing the situation. She looked at Roxas, who shrugged, seeming as though he wouldn't care much either way. Typical.

"Well… all right," she finally said. "We'll keep him." Axel groaned and looked at Roxas, who shrugged again, giving him an apologetic smile. What a day…

------------

Zexion could only take so much of Xigbar's pacing. The smaller Nobody was impatient too, but honestly. Xaldin had called for a 'meeting'. Granted, there were only four of them at this point in time, so a meeting wasn't necessarily the word Zexion would have used, but the topic to discuss was still extremely important.

"It's got to be that psycho," Xigbar finally said. "He's gonna pick us all off one by one till there's no one left."

"It can't be," Lexaeus muttered, still looking deep in thought.

"Why not?" Xigbar asked, lifting the eyebrow on his good eye. "He's got motive enough."

"But the evidence rules him out," Lexaeus shook his head, fixing Xigbar with a stare. "He's a wolf, and a big one at that. If it had been him, the paw prints would have been bigger."

"Then who else could it be?" Zexion asked, his frustration coming through in his question. "Either the prints are too big or they're too small. We haven't found a match yet and we're down to two suspects, neither of whom have revealed what animal they are to us."

"Maybe it wasn't what we think," Xaldin suggested softly. "Perhaps we're thinking too small…"

"Maybe he just left the window open," Xigbar rolled his eye.

"That's just too coincidental," Lexaeus said, frowning at him.

"But it's possible."

"His notes were stolen," Zexion reminded them. "And only the notes regarding our lack of hearts. The rest were scattered throughout the room." Xigbar fell silent once more, seeming as though he would pout.

"It could be those goddesses who kidnapped me," Lexaeus said suddenly. "They said they were going to take something important from me…" Xaldin looked as though he were going to say something, but decided better of it and fell silent once more.

"None of this makes very much sense," Zexion finally admitted.

This time, no one had a chance to respond to the statement. There was a flash of light and everyone present had to shield their eyes. When the light dimmed, there was a woman standing there. Each member instinctively reached for their weapons, but she held a hand up to signify that she came in peace.

"I mean you no harm, great warriors," she said. "I merely come to inform you of your task…"

-------------

Several weeks passed without much event. This greatly annoyed many of the Nobodies, as it so happened that arguments were beginning to break out far more frequently. Despite this, it seemed as though each member slowly gained control of their transformations. Everyone, that is, except Demyx. Axel had teased him a great deal at first, but Larxene had, in a dangerously sweet voice, told him to shut up. Though he stopped the mockery, everyone knew he was thinking it.

This all caused a great deal of frustration for Demyx, who seemed to be getting discouraged. Even the Replica, who everyone discovered transformed into a dog, had gained perfect control. Though it was nothing like Axel, who would occasionally transform into a fox, and then back to a human while Demyx was stuck sitting on the couch as a rabbit.

All in all, tempers were wearing thin, and Marluxia, despite his amusement, decided it would be best if they all had a break from one another for the time being.

"I think we should split up," he announced one day. Larxene lifted an eyebrow in his direction, so he went on. "It may be easier to figure out the task we're supposed to complete if we travel to different places. That way, when we return here, hopefully at least one of us will know what our task is."

"It could be a pointless waste of time," Larxene suggested. "We may never figure out what that lady wants us to accomplish, you know, even if we do travel to every corner of this world."

"It's worth a shot," Marluxia told her. "It's better than sitting here and arguing." That was something even Larxene couldn't argue with. A meeting for that evening was called and it was agreed that each member would go their own way, traveling to another town to try and discover their purpose there.

However, it was not the only meeting being called, for at that exact moment, Vexen opened his eyes. As it just so happened, Xigbar was the one in the room with him at the time. Because of this, every member within the cottage came bursting through the door at the same time, which Xaldin later decided could have given Vexen a heart attack, had he a heart.

"What in the name of science…" he began.

"Excellent, you're awake," Xemnas cut in, pushing Xigbar off the stool he was sitting on. Despite this, no one spoke while Xemnas continued. "Are you well enough to go on a mission?"

"What?" Vexen asked, clearly still attempting to get his bearings straight. He was weak, the other members were sure of it. Even Saïx, however, didn't seem to have anything to say.

"I've been informed that we're to do something of great importance," he told them. "We must discover what it is before the traitors do. Each of you need to decide where you are going and head out immediately. It must be something to do with Kingdom Hearts." This was directed at Saïx, it was clear, for the Berserker's eyes had widened, looking almost excited by the prospect of finding Kingdom Hearts again.

"The Superior is absolutely right," Saïx chimed in. Zexion had the nerve to roll his eyes, but Saïx was unable to see. "Do get well, Four. We must do this for Kingdom Hearts."

"Oh for the love of…"

"…yes!" Lexaeus interjected suddenly, causing everyone to jump. "They're both exactly right. We mustn't waste any time in completing this mission. If we want our hearts, we need to first find Kingdom Hearts!"

Xemnas seemed pleased and stood, walking past the other members again, followed closely by Saïx. The other four, however, were still staring at him. Vexen even, who seemed very weak still, was incredulous.

"Are you out of your mind?" Xaldin asked him.

"How could you possibly agree with them?" Zexion asked, actually looking betrayed.

"That was illogical, Five," Vexen told him. "Have you really started to agree with the Superior once again?"

"…what the fuck?" Xigbar demanded finally.

"Because this is an opportunity to do a mission of our own," he told them. "Not only will we be away from the Superior and Seven, but we have the chance to continue to look for that purpose the woman told us about."

"…what purpose?" Vexen asked them, looking confused. "What is going on…? My notes!" His eyes widened suddenly. "Where are my notes! They had information… I was at a breakthrough! I found something! Where are they?"

There was silence. Vexen continued to look between the members, his expression becoming more and more worried as the silence continued.

"…maybe you should lie down again…" Xigbar suggested.

END CHAPTER 12

-----------------------------------------

I hope you have all enjoyed the story so far. Now, for the next fifteen chapters, we will be following individual characters as they work to uncover the mysteries of the world. Yes, a lot will be explained. I just hope I don't fall into plotholes. That wouldn't be fun. Anyhow, please review! It gives me a lot of encouragement, knowing that people are still reading and enjoying the story. Even if you didn't enjoy it, let me know. I love to get concrit.

_Elias Dae_ – I'm so glad you're still enjoying it. This fic is far too interesting to give up on, really. Plus, I hate just leaving things to collect dust. I feel so unfinished.

_Haruka Shinigami_ – Haha. Yeah. It wasn't originally in the chapter, but I added it at the last second before I posted. It felt like an Axel and Larxene interaction. Thanks for the review.

_DarkDeSkull_ – Thank you so much! That's an awesome compliment! I'm glad that you enjoyed it and thank you for spreading the word!

_Firewolf _– Hehe. Yes, it was Lexaeus who noticed it was canine. But now, as I'm sure you've read, there are more clues, along with Marluxia's interpretation of why they stop changing into animals at night. It takes some of them a shorter amount of time to control the transformation, but I admit that Xemnas' animal has yet to be revealed. I hope I will be able to answer everything when the story's finished. As for now, there will be lots of unanswered questions. ^_^ I'm glad you're enjoying it!

_The White Raven013_ – I am hinting at important things. I tend to do that often. xD I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it. Unfortunately, I won't give anything away at the moment.

_Kimauri725_ – I'm so glad you like it, despite its weirdness. I can tell you that Xemnas is not a squirrel. That would be amusing, but that's not really what I'm going for there. xD I'm glad you liked the choice of animals, even though some of them are very unfortunate.

_Zephyrus Genesis_ – Thank you for the review! A lot of thought went into choosing the animals for the members. While I did think an otter would suite Demyx the best, I needed an animal that wasn't really based in the water, as Demyx needed to move around on land quite a bit. A rabbit ended up being my final choice because of his movements in the game, which reminded me of a rabbit hopping around. I really hope you continue to read and enjoy the story! :D


End file.
